My World Overtaken
by EmbryStarr
Summary: Jenny and Julian. Warning: Swearing and suggestive sexual content! possibly even graphic later on. Another warning: This is going to start out slow, but there is a very good reason! Julian is brought back by his elders... but he makes a break for it. WITH JENNY! an unwilling and kidnapped Jenny that is! And someone else has interest in Jenny.. Supportive criticism appreciated!
1. Chapter 1

My World Overtaken

(Hello there! Seeing as I haven't been on here for an EXTREMELY long time based upon the soul ((and sad)) reason that my little mini laptop broke because of my TOO hyper kitten; the recent and pathetic one chaptered story from the works of L.J Smith's "Vampire Diaries" that I failed to finish…. Well, to put it bluntly, the idea is now a dud. So! I am beginning a new fanfic about ANOTHER one of her amazing stories: The Forbidden Games!

No one can resist those icy cobalt blue eyes and out of this world sense of fun ((AKA Julian.)) And seeing as there aren't ((and never will be)) enough fanfic stories about him, I thought I might pitch in and make the world a happier place. So here it goes. Oh, and The Forbidden Games belongs to L.J Smith. Not me)

A gasp resonated through the darkness of my room as my eyes thankfully opened. I could feel a drop of sweat trickle down the side of my face as my sheets clung to my bare legs. A wave of nausea hit me as I barely was able to lean over the side of my bed, snagging my trash can, and hurling the contents of my previous meal into it base; if you would call it a meal…

This was the third time this week of me waking up in hot and cold sweats, but the first time the nausea was strong enough to make me actually throw up. Tears unintentionally streamed down my face as the last dry heave shook my body. Shaking, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, and managed to push myself back onto my cool pillow after a moment.

The nightmares…. They are getting worse; and at an extremely rapid rate. If this keeps up, I am going to have to go to a doctor… or maybe a psychologist…. probably both, actually. I mean, who wouldn't have to go into a lifetime of therapy after the mess I had been through. Only a mere two weeks after my friends and I got off the plane. Two weeks of trying to make myself believe that it was all over; but I, Jenny Thornton, have been through enough to know that it will never be over. Yes, Julian may be gone, but there are still the other Shadow Men lurking in the night, finding the next way to crawl back into our world.

Not only did I know this through experience, but there is a reason these nightmares have been mercilessly haunting me every time my eyes close and my head rests upon my pillow. Images and terrors have been stalking through my mind. The things that have been chasing me in my mind made Julian's games seem like a g-rated film. Either I have completely lost my mind, which is more probable than I care to admit. OR something is threatening me, both of which seem very likely. I held my head in my still shaking hands, as I took a deep breath. The taste of my stomachs acids making me try not to let my tongue explore my mouth. I had to get a grip… I have been trying ever since this whole thing began. But then again, I wasn't the only one. All of my friends, Tom, we were all dealing with it in our own ways. Some better than others; Dee and Audrey for example were the quickest to show that they have been moving on. Or at least, that is what they are trying to make it appear like. Dee has been even more vehement in her self-defense class, and Audrey remodeling her entire bedroom and wardrobe. They come to school with strong smiles and even more sharp tongues than before. It seems like they are forcing what happened to be forgotten as quickly as possible. And who could blame them? If only I were half as mentally strong as that.

At the same time, Michael and Zach…. It makes me rather glad I am have a little more will left than they do. Michael has barely gone to school because he has so many psychology appointments. And Zach won't even go to school at all. He won't respond to anyone's calls. I was so worried a few days after we got back, I went to my uncle's house myself to see if he was still living there. My uncle answered the door with eyes a little more tired than usual and assured me that he was here, but he will only come out of the garage to eat and use the restroom. But I think Zach's dad is trying to help him… Just something about the way he was taking assured me enough that I didn't try to break down the garage door right then and there.

And Summer has left. I don't know if that is the worst, or if it is the best choice based solely upon that she still had the strength to at least get up and get a new environment. She went to stay with her aunt until who knows when. But it's a few states away so it's not like we can visit her or anything. She will answer her calls but she sounds so busy and happy, I don't think anyone really wants to bother her. Tom in my opinion is the worst. He goes to school, hangs with our group but really doesn't say much. It's almost like he isn't really here anymore. He is jumpy all the time and looks like he hasn't had more than four hours of sleep every night. In fact, sitting at our table during lunch has kind of become a torture rather than a relief… either is dead quiet as we all eat our food in silence, or Audrey and Dee try to start a conversation that ends in a fizzle. I think we are broken, and unless a miracle happens, the only thing that might heal us is time.

Seeing the situation, there is a reason I haven't told anyone about my nightmares. It would cause an uproar, and our group is hanging by a thread as it is. Summer, Zach and even possibly Michael have pretty much left us. And knowing that this is all my fault… I refuse to stir anything up again. Shaking my head as I try to get myself out of the state of mind I was falling into, I raised my head and peered around my room; half expecting to see eyes staring back at me. Not those cobalt eyes of blue; multitudes of malicious and ravenous eyes. The sad thing is? I am absolutely positive that I would stare back without even a hint of surprise. I am tired… and lonely. I think we all feel alone.

…

We watched with hunger for more, gnawing as our tattered souls. The girl deserved the tastes of what was planned to haunt her every sleeping moment. But this was just for sport, time they had to spare. The beginning of the Act was about to begin….


	2. Chapter 2 awakened

(Seeing as how I have a LOT of time on my hands, and am also an insomniac, I will be uploading these chapters as quickly and as much as I please. Reviews are appreciated, but I am not going to beg and plead and connive you into doing so. BTW I assure you it is about to get much more…. Action packed haha)

A man seeming to be in his mid-twenties stared up at the abandoned house with bloodshot eyes. His ragged and wrinkly clothes hung from his newly emaciated body as he glanced down both sides of the road behind him. "I have to do this… I have to do this for Christine. I can't live without her…" Quickly stepping towards the house, he stepped onto the dead yellow lawn, walking past the front door and traveling to the side of the house. There he opened the already broken door and stepped into the musty smelling house. Wringing his hand, he searched as he finally found the door to the basement and pulled it open with a long and low creak. Standing at the top of the stairs he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, muttering more assurances to himself as he finally opened his eyes, and slowly descended the stairs. The room seemed a mess; with scorch marks and freshly carved runes covered the floor of the old room. He glanced at the opened closet with a shiver, and headed towards the back wall hurriedly.

Looking around the room once more, he knew they were watching his every move. And it made him want to tear out of there as fast as possible, but he couldn't. Someone was relying upon him with their very life and they were too important to him to make him cower out now. Taking a deep breath and pulling a piece of chalk from one of his pockets, he began to outline the necessary runes upon the wall. After a few minutes, he looked his work over, and with a quick self-assuring nod, he put the chalk back into his pocket and then withdrew his pocket knife. He had done this before, studied this practice his entire life; so he wasn't scared of drawing blood. It's what he was about to bring back to life that made him hesitate as he put the blade to his palm. Biting his tongue, he slit the soft meat of his hand open, and began to trace with his other finger dipping into the blood, over the runes, in the center of the circle he made, he began to write strange markings.

That's what it would seem to any other, as some weird hieroglyphs. But no, this was someone's name… something ancient. Julian.

….

As he finished writing the final letter into the wall, he took a furtive step back. Taking his knife, he growled in frustration at his cowardly mind and stepped back towards the wall a final time. He knew it was already beginning. But he was not done yet… Carving the outline of blood written letters, he tediously and carefully traced each letter with the point of his knife. Wiping the sweat from his brow his mind whirred into panic as he finished. Whispering suddenly bellowed throughout the room, sounding like deep and nightmarish voices of old. Gripping his knife in hand, he stepped back in the center of the room getting into a defensive position, refusing to back out now. "Very gooooooooood Isaac….." A breathy and hedonistic male voice sounded around him, coming from no particular place. It almost sounded as if it came from his own mind. Shivering inwardly, the man squared his shoulders. "I did what was asked. I did everything…. Will you please make Christine better now… please. I am running out of time."

A cold and malicious chorus of laughter blasted through the all but empty room. "Oh yesssssssssssss, we made a deeeeeaaall, didn't we Isaaaaaaac?"

Nodding only once, it took all his strength just to stay standing. "Yes, you promised. And I know that you never break your promises."

Laughter once again broke out, stronger than before. The room seemed to be dropping in temperature at an alarming rate. Isaac could already see his own breathe. "Of coursssssssse" The voice hissed with a strong tone of deceit. "The deeeeeed has already been done. Away with youuuu"

Without a second glance, the man sprinted up the stairs, two steps at a time and tore out of the house as if he was being chased by Satan himself. If only. A few hours later the man known as Isaac would arrive at the hospital where his newly-wed wife would awaken to a man she doesn't even remember. But they kept their promise…. She is better.

….

Yawning for the fifth time within the past twenty minutes, I stared at the clock with a silent plea. It was my last class of the day, and with only five minutes remaining, it seemed longer than the entire classes combined before this one. Dee nudged my arm, making me jump in my seat. She raised an elegant warrior princess eyebrow at me with an expression full of question. I half smiled at her and whispered "Sorry, tired." She shook her head and nudged me once more as she faced the front of the class again with a bored expression. I quietly let out a huff of air as I rubbed my tired eyes. I was SO going to fail this semester if these nightmares kept at it. I mean, how can you explain to your teachers? "I apologize, but shadowmen have been placing these images in my mind that are so unspeakably horrifying that not only has it kept me from sleeping but it is making me puke too. So please, let me retake the test." Ugh. I couldn't keep this act up much longer… Dee and Audrey have begun to get suspicious. And I have caught Tom more than once staring at me with worried eyes at the lunch table. Who wouldn't though if you saw your girlfriend falling asleep beside her uneaten lunch tray? The only reason no one has pestered me about it is they probably think that it's just after shock. Also because no one wants to talk about it… because they are afraid, and I don't blame them one bit. The saying 'ignorance is bliss' fits perfectly to the situation at hand.

I began to fall back into a flashback of my nightmare last night. Running through a never ending hallway, and suddenly smack in front of me there is the door to my Grandfathers basement looming over me. Cold fear takes a hold of me as suddenly the door flies open, something pushed me from behind, and I tumble down the stairs, flying through darkness as I finally land upon the floor. Managing to get on my hands and knees, I look up and right in front of me is the Lurker, teeth bared, eyes hungry, and our noses practically touching. I scream and get up, turning to run the opposite direction and suddenly I am in the jungle. Drums sounding in the distance as I push past the foliage, sweat running down my body. I come into a clearing and my little brother is lying dead in the center of the meadow, a wraith-like figure crouching over his body as it raises its head to stare me dead in the eye, blood running down its mouth, its hands cracking open my brother's ribcage with a grin.

The bell sounded as I felt the blood drain from my face. I hadn't eaten lunch today, already prepared for this. But it didn't matter, the nausea hit me again. And I lurched from my chair, leaving my backpack, my papers, everything on my desk as I raced out of the room praying I would make it to the bathroom in time. I heard Dee yelling behind me with the sound of shock cracking her voice. "Jenny?!" The last thing I heard was her yelling Tom's name before I slammed the bathroom door open, and managed to make it to an empty stall. As I began to wretch I could manage to hear gasps and whispers resonate throughout the girls bathroom, even the word 'pregnant?" with the shuffled and hurried sounds of everyone leaving the restroom. My throat was already sore from the acid from my recent moment of sickness last night. So I clenched the sides of the toilet as the burning returned to my throat with a vengeance, coughing up the little bit of liquid that was in my stomach. As I fell to the side of the toilet, barely leaning against the wall of the stall, little black dots began to enter my visions. I shook my head refusing to be pathetic enough to faint.

Suddenly the door slammed open behind me and before I knew it someone was sitting behind me, pulling me against them, and stroking my hair from my face. "Thorny…. What's going on…"

Tom. My shoulders sagged and I leaned against him for a moment, taking in the small moment of comfort. But I could hear the worry in his voice, turn to fear. I couldn't tell him… I couldn't be any more of a burden to him than I already had become. The door to the bathroom opened again as more people walked in. I braced myself, ready for the awkward silence or comment from strangers. But instead the whispered "Oh my god…" from Audrey and the incredulous voice of Dee saying "Jenny? What the fuck…" Suddenly I was wishing that is WAS complete strangers. I began to pull away from Tom but he held me tighter, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder. "Please tell us what's going on… we have tried to give you your space, but we can't anymore. Not if it's gotten this bad." I bit my lip as panic fluttered through my chest. What do I tell them…. Just lying to Tom was one thing…. But all three of them, and it sounds like they definitely know something is up… I was at loss for words.

Dee stepped up behind us, leaned forward and thankfully flushed the toilet so no one had to stare at my regurgitation any longer. As she stepped back again, I sighed and patted Toms knee, signaling I was able to and going to get up. After a moment of hesitation, he finally let go and pulled himself up. Grabbing me under my arms he lifted me up with him. I shooed him away, feeling as if I was being treated like a fragile and sickly weakling. "I'm fine now, Tom. Thanks though." We walked out of the stall towards Dee and Audrey then quickly we all left the bathroom in a silence. But I knew I was about to be interrogated. I went back to my last class, gathered up my things with the help of Tom, and we all headed outside for the front lawn of the school. I felt dizzy, but strangely not hungry like I should be. I swiped my hair behind my ear shakily as we all sat down. I felt trapped.

"Okay. Fess up." Dee started out blatantly as she always did.

"Yeah, we knows something has been wrong, Jenn." Audrey said with a hint of feeling betrayed in her voice. Tom just stared at me expectantly. I sighed, and finally realized there was no way around this. I was about to bring their already broken worlds crashing down again.

"I haven't been wanting to say anything… I know that we have all been through a lot. And I know that everyone was thinking that this is all finally over." Dee snorted. I glanced at her. Maybe they haven't been thinking that either? "I hoped so too… but, ever since we got back… I have been having nightmares. Not flashbacks of what happened or anything like that but… surreal and grotesque nightmares."

Tom went even paler than before and he squeezed my hand. I wasn't sure if it was because he was scared for me, or just plain scared… probably both. "Well, go on then" Audrey encouraged after a moment of silence. Before I could continue, Tom broke through. "Is Julian in them…"

I looked at him harder this time. Tom Locke was about to break. He couldn't handle this round. Julian again? No. Not this time. Or at least that was what it seemed like…. "No, Tommy… Julian has not been in any of them." I saw his tensed shoulders loosen and he gained a little bit of color back, he nodded for me to continue. "It's not something I can really describe to you in one sitting…. It's just a lot of random horror scenes. But last night was the worst because I saw a shadow man…and he was eating my brother."

They all grew eerily silent. Dee staring at me as if I was about to say 'Just kidding' and Audrey looked horror stricken. Tom just looked pissed. They all knew my little brother, and although he came off as annoying to me, I knew all my friends loved him as if he were their own brother as well; especially Tom. I cleared my throat and pushed on. "It was so real that I threw up last night … they keep getting worse; and… I can't help but feel… that these aren't just random scenarios coming from my imagination… I feel like someone else is making me see them. I think the shadowmen are still… messing with us. "

The silence continued on, and on… painfully so. Finally Dee spoke up once more. "I will talk to Abba about this…" I stared at her with a surprised expression. Why didn't I think of that! Abba was so wise especially when it came to stuff like this….! After another half hour of planning and a new vehemently angry side of Tom (That seemed rather refreshing compared to his zombie like state) everybody finally got up and headed home.

…

I watched with my elders as a forlorn and sickly looking Jenny Thornton walked back to her car with a tired and hopeless expression upon her face. My Light was fading. Her amber-gold hair blowing in the wind, and face still as radiant as ever, but her green eyes…. They were becoming defeated. I couldn't help but smirk. "It will be okay Jenny…. Julian's here now."


	3. Chapter 3 Entering humanity

(Third chapter in the same night?! Heck yesness! For once my insomnia has come in handy. The ideas are flowing beautifully. Readers, prepare for sheer awesomness, And by awesomeness I mean a completely ruthless and trickster Julian)

"How kind of you all to bring me back" Julian grinned lazily as he leaned back, staring at his elders with a comfortable ease. He had to do this. If he showed any sign of weakness, they would put him back down without a second glance. His fellow shadow men had to have a very good reason to bring him back. If he didn't keep his confidence up and on full throttle, they knew exactly what he would be planning. Dead eyes stared back at him silently, as the ever increasing urge to tear out of there and get to Jenny in the quickest means possible shot through him. He had new plans. Tom really was going to die, and he was taking Jenny from everyone and every THING she knew. Permission or no permission, his hunger for her burned so intensely that he had to clench the arms of his chair. He could feel the power to be able to do so, coursing through his blood. He would make her a new world… and depending on the way she acted, was the way the world was going to be built. Ice and fire. Beauty and horror. Be prepared Jenny….

Suddenly he noticed that not one of the others had spoken yet. Brows furrowing, he tilted his head at them questioningly. Slowly the gnarled and distorted figures began to part, making way for a new figure to step forth. Julian suddenly shot out of his seat hissing, standing behind his chair defensively, a growl ripping from his throat. "Quinn….."

A rather tall young man smiled charmingly at him as he stood in front of the multitudes of writhing shadows. Hair as black as raven's feathers curled around his jawline, making his already ivory skin seem even more pale than it could possibly be. He looked like a Grecian god of old, and it wasn't just because of his hair or figure. He had pale violet eyes that exposed his true nature. Greed and power. Wearing a white button-up dress shirt, with charcoal colored dress pants, he sauntered lazily forward, the top two buttons of his shirt had yet to be done up as he marble-like and perfect skin peeked through. His cuffs were rolled up slightly as if he had just finished a hard day at the office, and his wavy hair looks unkempt as ever. But he was alluring for a reason… enticement and prowess. He was by far stronger and OLDER than everyone here… it had even been rumored that he was in fact the first shadow man born into the shadow world. Which makes you wonder why he isn't the ugliest of them all, then? No one has ever known why other than the fact that he had some sort of secret unknown magic about him. All shadow man not only feared, but obeyed him. Julian had only met him twice. The day he was created and now. He could still remember the flicker of amusement in Quinn's eyes as new born Julian stood before him. "Well…. This is new, isn't it? You are different from the others… I have a feeling that things are going to get much more interesting from now on." Quinn said to him that first day…

And now as Julian backed away from him slowly, he realized that whatever this thing before him had planned… He had to get Jenny and himself as far from this as he possibly could. Julian finally stopped taking steps backward, knowing there was nowhere in the nine worlds he could possibly hide. Quinn, with an aura of frivolity, sat in the chair opposite of Julian, putting his legs up on the table and leaning back with his arms behind his head. The same exact position Julian had been in moments earlier. Smiling at him as if they were old and dear friends, Quinn shooed away the figures shifting behind him and before you could bat an eye, they were suddenly alone in the setting of… an office? Julian glanced around at the dramatically clad room. Instead of white walls and a wooden desk like a normal office, the walls were a crimson red patterned with gold trim. The carpet was an even richer red, and the chair upon which Quinn was sitting, was suddenly an extremely comfortable and expensive looking recliner. His feet now rested upon a desk that could only be described as something you would see in a king's office. Quinn gestured towards a cushioned seat in front of the desk. "Sit, sit."

Without hesitation, Julian stepped forward and sat down, feeling at loss for words. Trying to hide the expression of pure hate towards the figure sitting luxuriously before him, Quinn suddenly took his feet off the desk and leaned forward with his chin resting in his hands like a small child about to hear a story. Julian was disgusted with this creature before him… Something about him made Julian's skin crawl…

"You have been busy, Julian." Quinn stopped and paused to add dramatic affect. "I watched it from beginning to end, you know? I haven't been that entertained… well, let's just say it's been a very long time. "He chuckled, and tilted his head; his eyes sweeping across Julian, watching for any twitch or reaction; but Julian was not giving him the pleasure of seeing his discomfort like all the others did. Quinn was known to revel and increase any pain or discomfort no matter who the being was. And Julian knew exactly what Quinn was talking about… the games with Jenny. How did he possibly think that something like that would be swept under the radar of Quinn. After all, it was sort of his duty to keep tabs on all of them. And Julian had broken more rules than all the Shadow Men combined.

Something inside him blackened at the thought of The Oldest One watching HIS jenny…. Julian clenched his teeth to hold back a protective snarl. Jenny sleeping… all the trauma he put her through. Imagining that hungry smirk of approval on Quinn's face as Julian tore apart Jenny's world…Julian looked the Shadow Lord dead in the eye. Quinn's eyes flickered with pure amusement. "You are smart Julian, smarter than the others for sure. Oh yes, when it comes to ideas of toying and torture, they are the best of the best. But you have something a little more. You still have a piece of soul in you; a heart that still beats. You can feel more than just hate and the pleasure in hurting others; you feel love, guilt, and pain too… and you want something more than just to torment and torture others."

Now it was Julian's turn to tilt his head and grin at his leader. "Ten points for you, so smart." Quinn suddenly began laughing uncontrollably, "Finally someone who doesn't cower in their seat. You're perfect for the job. The only one who will get what I want, done."

Julian sighed, sweeping his frost colored hair from his eyes. "Perfect for?"

"The job of course. But I am sure you already knew I had something special planned for you when I had you brought back to me." ….. Julian raised his eyebrow. Of course he knew he was summoned back to serve a purpose towards the Shadow Lord. It just didn't dawn on him that it would be this soon. He waited with a bored expression, but on the inside something was gnawing at him. Why would he mention to Julian that he watched everything that had happened? Was he going to be punished for his crimes first? The first flutter of suspicion pierced him.

"I need you to bring me the one and only, love of your extremely long life, Jenny." Silence emanated the room.

Julian froze. Why.

Bring Jenny to HIM? What Quinn was suggesting was… impossible; impossible on so many levels that it was like a blow to his very soul. The power that would take to even bring her to THIS world… was unheard of; no one has ever been able to bring a soul from earth to the presence of the Shadow Lord; impossible because he would NEVER let this bastard near his Jenny. That entire time it took for him just to let Jenny realize he had been watching her since she was seven. The tricks it took for him to be able to caress her cheek, kiss her. Yes, Tommy was a nuisance but… this was beyond even remotely acceptable. Even the Lord of Shadows himself was not getting NEAR her.

"WHY." Julian shook with rage.

"Oh, come now, do you really think I would tell you this early in the game? Patience my friend."

"You fucking bastard! What do you want with her?!" Julian was suddenly standing, slamming his fist so hard onto the desk that the wood groaned in protest. Quinn didn't even jump. He calmly stood in one fluid motion, and leaned towards Julian. Quinn's face inches from his own. A spark of mischief of the most indecent intent came to life before the Prince of Shadows eyes. "The reason I am sending you is because you are the only one capable. You can trick her. I have a location in that world that you will need to bring her to, and the task is rather tedious."

Shaking with rage, it took all his strength not to destroy this being before him. He knew it unwise, but his belonging was being threatened. He had to deal with it enough as it was with the Tommy, but Tommy wasn't threatening… Julian could still steal her away any moment he wished. But he couldn't run from Quinn, and no one has ever disobeyed him. As the thought of refusing the offer rang through his mind, it was almost as if Quinn caught on.

"And if you refuse… She dies." Smirking with the knowledge of having the upper hand, Quinn reached forward and patted Julian's cheek as if he were a dog. "And her death wouldn't be a quick one. I will torture her mind until she kills herself to run from the pain. … And you will watch every sweet moment with me." Julian slowly raised his head, cobalt eyes blazing with the most pure loathing that has ever been witnessed. He would find a way to sneak her out from under this repugnant creatures nose. They will both make it out of this alive, no exceptions.

…

Jenny stared at her ceiling with an empty expression. The soft lamplight that lit up her bedroom brought no comfort; nor did the warmth of her blanket, or the softness of her pillow. The assuring texts from Tom that said if she had a nightmare she not only could, but HAD to call him right afterwards brought no comfort to Jenny, no matter the late hours of the night. It wouldn't matter if she was falling asleep near a beach, or if the sun was shining bright. She was alone, and being alone was the worst feeling she thought she would ever experience. Being although she hated to admit it…. She even wished that Julian still existed knowing she was being watched over and protected. Although she wouldn't be safe from HIM; but tonight the nightmares were her only companions. Her eyes shut as she gripped her blankets tight, knowing that exhaustion was in the process of taking hold. "Please…. Please leave me in peace tonight" She whispered as sleep crept upon her with cruel intent.

…..

He stood over her bed, watching as her face turned from peaceful to terrified; a whimper escaped her throat as she began to toss and turn beneath the covers. Her soft breathing turned to shuddering gasps, and it was obvious she was seeing things that a beautiful soul of the purest light should never be prone to witnessing. A pang of sympathy sliced through him. "Brothers…. What have you been doing to my Jenny while I have been gone…?" With a worried expression, Julian quickly removed the battery from Jenny's phone as it began to buzz, signaling that her precious Tommy was calling. No. She was his now; his hand slowly reached forward and covered her forehead as he sat down beside her on the bed. After a moment or two, her beautiful face went back to blissful as her body quieted down. No more nightmares Jenny, I will promise that; at least from no one other than me. Half smiling, Julian bent down to kiss the top of her head, reveling in the gift that despicable Shadow Lord gave him. Julian not only could enter the human world… but he could touch Jenny as much as he pleased, with or without permission.

…..

Just as someone's lips made contact with my skin, my eyes flew open. And I stared into deepest and most alluring blue eyes that no human has ever been born with; his frost white hair tickling my face as a wicked grin broke across his features. This was by far the most surreal nightmare yet….

"Julian…" I whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

(Apologies, took the weekend off… okay, more like I had such a busy weekend that I completely forgot about this . but it's okay now. I can now write more amazing brain vomit about Julian. Hope you enjoy!)

After having opened my eyes at the shock of blue and white pervading my vision, it took a moment for the scene to sink in. I stared up at him, and he smirked down at me. "You don't seem too surprised to see me, Jenny." He said nonchalantly, straightening up as he spoke. But that ever present glimmer of hunger seemed to shine a little more brightly than it ever did before he had vanished.

"No. The only thing I am surprised at is that this is the first nightmare I have had of you since the incident." I looked him over, searching for anything that was about to kick-start the gore and horror into action. What were the Shadow Men planning this time? Was he going to torture me? Perhaps something sick and perverted; it had to be something bad because every nightmare has been getting more and more intense with each passing night. Everything LOOKED normal… as normal as a Shadow Man who wanted you for himself could be. No sardonic hatred in his eyes, no weapon in his hand. The Creeper and the Lurker weren't in sight… yet. He was wearing something a little more down-played than his usual ensembles. No steam-punk garb or revealing vests. Just a black V-neck T-shirt with low-riding gray jeans. That pirate striking diamond earring sparkled behind his left ear. And his hair was a little more wild than usual, but I found no threatening feature on or around him. He tilted his head at me curiously, cobalt eyes flashing with slight amusement. "You think you are in a nightmare? How interesting."

He flashed a grin at me before leaning back down towards me. Suddenly his face was inches from mine once more, but I was more awake to be able to scoot myself backwards until I felt the cold hardness of the metal bars on the back of my bed. "I think you have the word wrong, Jenny. If you are so convinced that you are asleep… this must surely be a dream." As he suddenly was on top of me, the blankets now pinning me to my bed as both my legs were resting between his knees. I glanced at our position, then back up at his face. He had an expression of pure nirvana; it was as if he knew something I didn't… My eyes widened as he slowly reached up, taking my chin in his hand. No… this HAD to be a nightmare. He can't… touch me….

As he pulled my face towards his, with those fiery blue eyes blazing with want, my defenses suddenly kicked into gear as I wrenched my face out of his hold, pushed him off of me and sprang out of my bed. I backed away until I was closer to the door, my hands clenched into tight fists. He sat upon my bed, with one leg hanging over the side, and one knee up to rest his elbow on, whith his chin resting on his fist. He had an expression of sheer entertainment. I reached behind me, never taking my eyes off him as my hand searched for the doorknob. I had to get him out of my house before this woke my family up. But then again… if this was a nightmare, why did it matter? He began to rise and head towards me, but then stopped abruptly. His brows furrowed together as he scrutinized me from head to toe. I was wearing a t-shirt and pajama shorts, and my hair was probably a mess. I looked down at myself to see why he had such a shocked face, and then back up at him. Nothing was wrong… that I could see. "Jenny…. You look practically emaciated… what the hell has been going on while I have been gone?" Stepping towards me without hesitation, he snatched both my wrists before I even had time to open the door.

….

Under the lamplight as she was lying in bed, I didn't notice it at first. Her skin was still flawless and the color of cherry blossoms as it always had been. But when she stood up… it was a miracle she was able to stand at all by the looks of her. From across the room I could see the outline of her bones in her wrists. You could practically see her ribcage through her shirt, even her cheekbones were more pronounced. As I stepped towards her to get a better look at her, she had dark circles under her eyes that made it look as if she hadn't had sleep for weeks. Not only sleeplessness had wracked her body though… You could tell she had been going through a lot of stress in very little time. Had I done this to her? Were the games I had created for her and her friends too much? Maybe I overestimated her strength of mind. A tremor of something ran through my body, making my fingertips feel as if electricity shocked them. I didn't want this…

Jenny's forest green eyes that were already widened grew even wider as I took a hold of her. I knew she was planning to bolt out of that door as quickly as she possibly could. And I was planning on following her like a cat follows a mouse. But I didn't care about that right now, I wanted to wrap my arms around her… but before I could process the scene before my eyes any further she bowed her head and looked away, averting her eyes. "I don't understand what you are trying to do to me. What mind games are you playing now?" She said quietly. I raised an eyebrow; "Jenny… I don't quite follow." I tried to take hold of her chin once more to look her in the eyes, but she tilted her head away from my hand.

"Why are they using you… you are dead. I suppose I can see the advantage in creating the being that destroyed our lives, but you aren't behaving as they usually create the nightmares to behave." Her eyebrows were now furrowed in confusion and it looked like she was trying to sort something out in her mind. She is talking about my brothers…. She really does think this is a nightmare. Something they created. I knew that they were playing their usual little games out of revenge towards her making it out of this alive. But either she was so delusional that she couldn't tell the difference between reality and dream state… or my fellow Shadow Men have been utilizing the best of their abilities towards my Jenny to the point of which I am TOUCHING her and she is still convinced that she is asleep. This made me very angry.

I shook her, forcing her to look at me this time. "What have they shown you? How long has this been going on?" She winced at my tightening grip, and tried to keep her body's distance from mine as far as it could reach. "Why do you want to know? You aren't even real!" She ripped her wrists from my grasp in one fluid motion and wrenched her door open. I could hear her bare feet hitting the wooden floorboards of the hallway as I pursued her with a quick jog, thoughts racing through my mind. Ideas of how I would dis-member every last one of my kin. Especially that god damn Quinn; if he wanted her so badly and in one piece, I don't understand how she is going to supposedly make it to the shadow world if she dies of malnutrition and stress beforehand. I gritted my teeth, rather hoping this wouldn't awaken anyone in the household for the soul purpose that it would be a nuisance to deal with. I knew she wouldn't run to her parents for help. She was too smart and protective of doing that.

Sure enough, I heard the front door of the house open as I reached the top of the staircase. Seeing a wisp of that honey suckle hair before she disappeared from sight, I sprinted down the stairs after her. Her neighborhood was practically my home. I watched over her every single day since the day that I beheld her beauty. Watched her and her friends grow up, going to the park and the local mall. She couldn't lose me here. She may think she has the advantage since she is on home turf, but I couldn't help but smile as the cool California breeze hit my face as I ran down the street following the only one I have ever loved flee from me. Wherever she goes, I will surely follow. And she can't run forever.

….

My hair whipped at my neck and back as I ran down my street into the darkness. This part definitely felt like a dream. I was always running lately… I knew he was behind me, smiling that sick smile with the idea of this as a game. I prayed that the Creeper and the Lurker would stay out of sight as I reached my plan A point. Seeing the corner of Mrs. Terrence's tall gate near the end of the street, I pushed even harder; leaping over the curb and running through the grass, I headed towards her backyard. Thankfully I hadn't stepped on anything sharp yet, wishing I had shoes on right now. I ran past the backyard, and quickly bent down and slipped through a hole that Dee, Zach and I found when we were ten. Then I began sprinting forward once again, but I had to watch more carefully. This was the property of a family who never took care of their lawn, and before the suburbs here were built, there used to be a few holes from a small mine around here. Granted, me and my cousin and Dee never were able to find them but our parents scolded us far too many times to count, assuring us that we could have broken our necks if we fell.

Eyes scanning the darkness before me, I knew there was a fence coming up that had no hole in it. And it was going to have to be jumped. I knew though that if I made it over the fence, and ran another block, there was that twenty four hour convenience store on the corner. And I could have them call the police. My mind rang with warning bells as I knew it wasn't going to work most likely since this was a nightmare, and the odds are NEVER in your favor. I was a little surprised though; my nightmares were normally very random and short; jumping from one scene to another in a matter of seconds most of the time. It had been at least five minutes from the moment of me opening my eyes, and so far everything made sense. In a supernatural sort of way of course; as these thoughts flew through my mind in less than a millisecond I knew I was reaching the fence. My hands flexed, preparing to jump and latch onto the top bar of the fence post; I began to pick up speed to make the jump and next thing I know? WHAM. I feel a sudden and majorly intense pain in my ankle as it sinks about a foot into the ground, I fall and the air is knocked out of me. I lie on my stomach stunned, hand reaching towards the fence still as I lie there for a moment. An incredibly overwhelming knowledge that it was all over crashed into me as I gasped for air; I am done.

I hear footfalls hitting the grass a small ways behind me that are picking up speed. I begin to try to pull my foot out of the ground, but a stabbing pain so sharp and intense ends up making me scream in pain instead of allowing me to break free and keep running. My fingers clench into the dewy wet grass beneath me as I bow my head and wait for Julian to end me right then and there. At least THIS nightmare will be over. Whether I will be moving on to another one, or I am waking up, I would rather be in any nightmare than this one.

…..

I KNEW she was going to make that turn up ahead. I fucking KNEW it. Damn stubborn girl, she and her friends found that place when they were younger. They thought it was SO cool that they came across an old mining area. The entire time I wanted to wring that little Dee's neck for convincing my Jenny to go there! I could keep animals from harming her, steer bad men from following her when she decided to do her little jogs at night, but I can't stop her from falling down a hole. I didn't have the power before to appear solidly in this world before I died. But now I did, and she still insisted upon sentencing herself to injury and death. I sped up; I was going to let her tire herself out, but when I knew that she was not only going to try to head towards a dangerous area, but also a place where there were humans still up at this hour… I have to intervene.

I turned the corner sharply, arms pumping as I picked up the pace. I practically dove through the hole in the run-down fence, and saw her up ahead. She was about to reach the fence! I gritted my teeth and growled lowly. And that was when she disappeared. I came to a sudden halt, eyes scanning the rather large so-called backyard, and then I caught a glimpse of silver moonlight catching reflection in her golden hair. She was lying on the ground completely still, face down in the grass. I wanted to kill something; she should have known! She never learns! Then I see her head tilt back upwards towards the fence, 'Oh no you don't!' I speed towards her, but then I hear her scream in pain. Reaching her as quickly as possible, I slow down as I stop right beside her. Her head is bowed once more, and I see her hands clenching the grass; obviously she is in pain.

Sighing, I crouch down examining the scene before me. Her foot had vanished into a small opening in the earth, and her ankle was twisted at an awfully unnatural angle. I shook my head, and ran my fingers through my hair. "Of course. Why am I even surprised?" She kept her head bowed, as her hair hung over her face blinding me from seeing her expression. Her shoulders were tensed, and I couldn't tell if it was because she was in pain or because she was afraid of me; most likely both.

"Come on." I said as I gently began scooping the earth away from around her trapped foot. I lifted it out as carefully as I possibly was able; seeing her cringe in pain. Taking her by the shoulder and rolling her onto her back, I lifted her into my arms as we headed back towards her street. She kept her face averted but I could still see the tears sliding down her now dirty face. "Let's get you patched up."

…

This wasn't a nightmare…. The scalding pain in my ankle told me that. The tears blurred my vision as I looked up at the Shadow Prince holding me in his arms. The moonlight made his frost colored hair look like a halo, as he carried me through the California summer night.


	5. Chapter 5

(Yay! Julian can make physical contact without permission, Jenny has a messed up ankle, and now she has been caught with her fate in the hands of Julian!... wait. Should I be saying yay? Sounds kind of sadistic. BTW I know that not a lot of people have read the forbidden games compared to other creations of L.J Smith's, so I know that creating a fanfic for this book on here wasn't promising many reviews; but to the three reviews so far? Thank you so, so much! It's always so gratifying to see that something that has been created in your own mind can be appreciated by others when written down into words. ANYWAYS enough with the blabbing, on to the show!)

I must have blacked out for a while, because I woke up, lying in the back seat of a taxi, with my head resting on Julian's lap as he stroked my hair, TRYING to sooth me. Street lamps flashed by, alighting his face every other second as he stared on straight ahead. This look of contemplation and anxiety twisting his features; I was disgusted. Not only with the fact that he was taking me away from my home, not only that it was HIS FAULT for the entire situation my life had gotten into. From him terrorizing me and my friends, to the excruciating pain in my ankle; but ALSO the fact that this was NOT a dream; he is HERE on the physical plane. This is not a different dimension or world. He was taking me from my home at this very moment in a freaking TAXI. I was disgusted with myself for being so naïve to think that I was capable of keeping myself out of harm's way; to think that I possibly had all of this under control. I squeezed my eyes shut for a few moments as it all began to sink in.

My parents are going to wake up in the morning to find my bed empty. Then, they are going to call Dee and Audrey's houses; then Tom, then my Uncle's. Then they will find Summer's and probably even Michaels numbers, calling them as well; finding full well that I have either run away or been kidnapped. And not only will my family be torn apart, but Tom, and all my friends will be in so much pain and shock that anything we all had left together will now be completely blown to pieces… and it's all HIS fault. I gritted my teeth, restraining myself from opening the car door and jumping onto the road, rather having died from the fall or another vehicle than being on the lap of this creature.

He must have felt my body grow tense because he suddenly stopped stroking my hair. I could feel him shake me slightly, as I opened my eyes once more to see those eyes filled with mischief and trickery glisten at me with delighted evil, he put a finger to his lips and with a tilt in the direction of the taxi driver, he winked at me. I stared back in blatant loathing, lifting up off of his lap as quickly as possible. He watched me carefully but surprisingly allowed me to do it, as I slid over to the other side of the taxi, huddling in the corner as best as I could with the pain pulsing through my entire foot. I wanted to be as far away from him that I could possibly get while being inside a taxi. Not knowing how he was able to hail a cab on our quiet little suburban street but really not caring at this point; and seeing as how I cannot put even the slightest bit of pressure on my right foot; I could not walk. Therefore I either had to start screaming right here and now, or wherever we end up when we exit the vehicle, or I play along and get out when the chance comes along. I will try both.

…

It felt like a lifetime, sitting alone in that cab with the one person in this world that I feared and loathed the most. When he died, (or at least, when I THOUGHT he died) feelings arose inside of me that made me sort of miss him. I missed the adventure… withering with the knowledge that the world seemed a little duller without the Shadow Man, Julian. But it was GOOD that he was gone. The world also felt a little safer, even with the other numbers of shadow men lurking about in the dark. None of them were HIM.

What I wouldn't give if Tom were here right now. Not to fight Julian, or even protect me; but just to hold me and let me know that we will all make it out of this alive both physically and mentally. A sudden heart-wrenching sob threatened to break loose, but I pursed my lips and refused to think of Tommy any more at this moment and time; because if I began to remember what it felt like in his arms, then all my plans of never letting Julian see my weak side would go crashing to the floor in hundreds of shards.

The rattling thing is, is that prince of shadows wouldn't stop staring at me. No, thankfully he didn't try to scoot next to me like he normally would have; but those eyes that were practically glowing electric blue, were boring holes into me from across the backseat. I shivered inwardly and turned to look out the window, still seriously debating on whether I should go ahead and just jump. I didn't recognize anything, and that terrified me. NOTHING looked familiar; I could recognize anything within at least fifteen miles of my home, so I must have been out for a while… Glancing back at Julian who was still watching me with those cold insightful eyes, winked once more at me, with a knowing grin etched upon his facial features. I growled quietly, and looked back out the window as the taxi suddenly felt like it was slowing down. I looked up ahead to see that there was light up neon signs of a motel coming up. My heart stopped cold for a moment, as I prayed that the taxi guy was just slowing down because he saw something in the road, or there was a stop light up ahead. But no, we turned into the dark parking lot of the grungy looking motel; and as we came to a stop in the front, I felt extremely dizzy.

The clock on the front dashboard of the car said 4:57 am. We must have been driving for at least an hour. I was lost, and alone with Julian; whom of which I was most assuredly about to share a motel room with.

…..

I watched her intently as we pulled into the lot of the off-road motel I planned to stay the night in. I made sure it was a place she wouldn't have ever seen or heard of. Granted we were still in California… but only barely. Another twenty miles and we would have been across the border into Nevada. A grin couldn't help but break loose as the expression upon her face became more and more anxious. She realized that we would be sharing a room. The question was should I be nice and request a two bed? Or should I make it a one bed, and give her the option of sleeping under the same blanket as me, or giving her the choice of sleeping on the hard floor with no blanket or pillow to give her comfort in said choice she made?

I have to admit I was rather pleased to see her wake up and not immediately alert the driver that she had been kidnapped. I knew there was a high risk of that happening, but I had a damp rag of chloroform hidden deep in my back pocket if things got out of hand. Knowing it was rather pathetic that I had to resort to such a low trick, and that I liked allowing her to make her own choices, I was on the material plane now. This wasn't my own world that I had created and then played her into. If a human were to find out she had been taken away, especially since I am sure it will be alerted all over their media by this next day or so, I had to take extreme precautions.

As the vehicle made a complete stop, I dug into my pocket for a wad of bills that I found as I was heading towards Jenny's house a few hours earlier. Quinn must have had every detail planned out to make my trip with Jenny as quick and smooth as possible. Shaking my head at the annoying buzzing reminder in the back of my head that I still had to deal with the situation with Quinn, I gave the driver the required amount of cash requested. By the glance at Jenny, and her raised eyebrows, I guessed it was a rather large sum for the normal expenditures of human standards. Compared to how much I had left though, it had hardly even made a dent. Now came the risky part. I did not want to alert the driver by handling Jenny roughly to make sure she did not escape my sight as I acquired our room, but if she planned on making a break for it as soon as she opened that door, I would have no other alternative. Gazing at her darkly, allowing my eyes to say "Don't you dare", she pursed her lips and stiffened as I scooted towards her. I knew that she would be unable to run based upon the fact the she most definitely had a broken ankle, but if she struggled or was still somehow stupid enough to still try to run…it would become difficult.

Gripping her wrist tightly, as I reached across her and opened the vehicles door, I heard a sharp intake of breath as I made skin contact with her. She was shaking like a rabbit, and it pleased me to know that I struck such fear in her. The more control I had of her mind and her emotions, the more of a grip on her reality I could warp. Gazing at her once more with a nod towards the open door, she slid out only able to keep her weight on her good foot. I quickly shut the door then drew her into my arms to make the walk towards the door less of a pain. She squeaked with fear and tried to push herself out of my hold, but my hold on her was iron-tight. I smirked with delight as she turned her head away from me once more. She dug her fingernails into the skin of my chest, showing me how much she hated me but I didn't mind. Heading for the entrance of the motel, it slowly began to rain. The once clear night sky had darkened during the drive here, and menacing black clouds began an onslaught of thick relentless raindrops. Just before reaching the sliding door, I could not tell if those were tears sliding down my precious Jenny's face? Or raindrops.

As we made it inside the rather dull looking motel lobby, Jenny's hair was dripping wet as I set her on the nearby couch. I saw a spark in her eyes as she glanced towards the door we just came through but I put my finger up in front of her eyes to make her stare into mine, and waggled it as I tsked. "Don't get such ideas Jenny. If you somehow do make it through that door without me seeing, where would you go? It's raining pretty badly out there, love; and besides you just might regret the decision of escaping me… I will let you know why once we reach our room." I left it at that and straightened. Jenny bowed her head and gripped the cushion of the couch upon which she was sitting; her hair falling in her face once more, as she hid those beautiful cypress green eyes from me.

With one last glance at her, I turned and headed toward the front desk, where a skinny young man in his mid-twenties sat yawning behind the desk in a desk chair reading a magazine. I tapped the little bell on the desk and grinned as he jumped out of his seat with a yelp. Leaning my elbow on the surface, with my fist on my cheek, I gave him a bored expression. "One room, One bed. The pathetic man cleared his throat with embarrassment and nodded his head. He began to type into his mechanical contraption, trying to stop himself from glancing at me. "Yes, Sir. That will be 80 dollars, Sir." I Shrugged and dug through my pocket once more. As I was counting out the infuriating paper, I saw the man glance over my shoulder out of the corner of my eye. "Is she with you, Sir?" I could hear the rising worry in his voice as he asked.

"Yes." I said in monotone. I did not like anyone looking at my Jenny, and he would not take his eyes off of her. "Is she alright? She looks sick or something… and why is her leg stretched out at that angle? It looks like she is injured..."

Before he could continue to babble his incessant questions; my head snapped up looking him straight in the eye: "She is FINE. Take your disgusting eyes off of her." The man went slack-jawed, and took a few steps back. Suddenly realizing that he was now even more suspicious than before, I had to act. Sighing and squeezing the bridge of my nose between my fingers, I spoke more softly. "I apologize… I am taking her back to her home. She ran away with her boyfriend a few weeks ago, but she called me a couple nights ago saying that he was being abusive. And since I am her brother, I rushed over as quickly as possible to bring her home. We need to spend the night here though. We are exhausted, so please, I apologize for snapping in such a way. I am especially protective as of late." I spoke more and more quietly while telling him my intricately spun web of lies. Acting as if I did not want her to hear because of how 'delicate' she is at this time. The man whose face was in sheer shock at my anger, had suddenly changed to another sort of shock. But a shock that I knew would invoke pity and secrecy. He nodded slowly and said "It's alright, Sir. No problem at all, I would act the same way if that had happened to my sister." Tapping at his keys a few more times, he handed me a plastic card and told me our room number. Staring at the card with a confused expression, I headed back towards jenny who was sitting in the same position. Her head snapped up as I approached, and she looked as if she was in great pain.

Glancing at her ankle with worry, and reminding myself to check it once we reached our room, I picked her up once more and headed back outside to find the door with our number on it.

….

My ankle was beginning to THROB; even more-so than it was in the car. I knew I had to get away from Julian but this damn ankle was like an invisible ball and chain! As he carried me in his arms back outside into the pouring rain, I could feel my body getting hot and cold sweat all over. I knew I was trembling, but I had been doing that for a while. The dizziness that invaded my mind in the vehicle was now hitting me with thrice the power. As Julian came to a stop at one of the doors, I could barely make out the numbers on it because my vision had become so blurry; and I didn't know if it was because of the rain falling into my eyes, or that something was very very wrong…. Julian hoisted me up with one arm as my only good foot tried to hold my weight. He was rummaging through his other pocket, pulling out a key-card. Mumbling to himself, he turned it over and over, looking from the door to the card. I didn't want to be anywhere near Julian, especially a bedroom, but this rain was freezing me inside and out and my knee was about to give out on me. "It's a key card…" I rasped. "You slide it through that right there" I pointed with a shaky finger at the card-slider on the doorframe near the knob. It took him a few times to find the right side to swipe it on but finally the light turned green, and beeped, then the door clicked and Julian pushed it open in one fluid motion.

Picking me up for the third time, he stepped over the threshold of the door. I stared into the dimly lit room and my heart stopped as I stared at the king-size bed… the ONLY king-size bed in the entire godforsaken room. A whimper escaped my throat as Julian set me on one of two chairs in the corner of the room. As I situated myself numbly, the only thought that was echoing through my head was "I am about to have the worst night of my life"


	6. Chapter 6

(Chapter six? I have gotten so much farther in chapters than the last book I wrote, but I haven't even made a dent in this new one! Progress needs to speed up! I have so many ideas floating around in my head all day about what is going to happen next, and later on. Yay! I am so excited! And to the review asking when is Julian going to make his move? And when is Jenny going to fall for him? Well to the first question, Julian will be making his first major move in THIS chapter. But sadly, Jenny will see Julian mainly as a threat to her life and her friend's lives for quite a while until a certain someone comes in a few chapters down the road. I promise it gets better and better! Btw reviewers, are you liking the switching from Jenny's to Julian's points of view? When I was reading L.J's book, I always wished I knew what Julian was thinking.)

I watched as Julian tediously examined the room. He gave it a quick walkthrough, and then headed straight for the bathroom. I could see the back of him as he searched through the cabinet behind the mirror. I felt as if I was in some sort of daze. I was processing my surroundings, what Julian was doing, but emotions had seemed to stop reaching me. I wanted to lie on the floor, fall asleep, and wake back up in my bedroom finding out that the shadow men had learned a new trick in their nightmares of which they could inflict pain. But cold hard reality sent another biting shock through me as I shivered from the ac blowing through the room, making my wet skin raise gooseflesh. It seemed surreal that what felt like less than an hour ago, I was waking up in my bed. That my parents and my brother slept through…. Oh, god. Don't think about them… don't think about ANYONE. A staggering pain in my chest pierced me so deeply that I hunched over clutching myself. My eyes squeezed shut as I tried to stop the tears from running down my face. Everyone will be in so much pain because of me… because of my stupidity. If I had just called for help right when I opened my eyes and saw those cobalt blue eyes… if I had just called Tom, or Dee, or Audrey… ANYONE. I most likely wouldn't be here. But I didn't… I didn't want to involve my parents or friends for fear that they would get hurt as well.

"Jenny?..." A worried voice filled with elemental music that used to melt my heart, rang through the quiet motel room. I felt a hand on my back as I raised my head and sat back up, still clutching at my chest though. He was trying to comfort me…. What a joke. I gazed back into his anxious stare, as he knelt in front of me, smoothing my wet and tangled hair from my face. I didn't feel a thing. All the strength and fear had vanished from my body. I just sat there quietly as I gazed off at the bed behind him. "Shit… You're in shock." He pulled up a rusty metal box with the first-aid sign on its cover. Snapping open the clasps he began to pull contents from it. Rubbing alcohol, gauze, those little gripper things that keep the gauze from unraveling; then a bottle of ibuprofen. I knew that he was going to try to fix up my ankle for the night, but from the feel of it and the sound it made when I tripped and fell from that hole in the ground… I knew rubbing alcohol and gauze was nowhere near enough. I need to get to a hospital and the sooner the better. But my sanity was wearing rather thin at this moment and time, so I didn't feel panicked or worried about it too much.

Setting the previous objects aside, he shut the box and put it on the bed. Then he sat back in the spot he was originally kneeling in and began to examine my bare foot. It was swollen, red, and my ankle above it looked… off. The ankle bone was protruding a little TOO far out and a purple tone seemed to be slowly spreading around it. Julian muttered profanities in a hushed tone and set to work. First wiping down my entire foot with the little rubbing alcohol tissues, (which in all honesty I didn't know why, because nothing was infected as far as I could tell and no open wounds) then looked up at me before he began the gauze. "This is going to hurt, Jenny. I have to set the bone, and then wrap it as tightly as I can with the medical cloth. I apologize, but this has to be done right now."

I nodded numbly, a little feeling of panic rising back up inside my throat at the knowledge that physical pain was about to ensue. I gripped the sides of my chair, turned my head so I couldn't see what was about to be done, and shut my eyes tightly while pursing my lips. "Ready?" I nodded once more, but barely. No I'm not freaking… my entire body jolted as red hot pain crackled from my ankle spreading to the ends of my toes and all the way up to my knee. And when I say crackled, I mean it literally. A disturbing crack resounded through my ankle bone as it popped back into the place it was meant to be. A harsh whimper somehow escaped my pursed lips, as my fingers dug into the wood of the chair so hard I felt my nails bending back. But then the pain seemed to fade to a low throbbing. I peeked back at Julian whose brows were furrowed together in concentration. He began to wrap the gauze around my ankle, starting from right above it until it was halfway down my foot. It was TIGHT! I could already feel my blood flow being cut off. Gulping down air as quietly as I possibly could, my fingers slowly loosened their grip on the underside of the chair as Julian put the clasps on it, then set my foot down in a position he thought would be comfortable for me.

I stared down at him as he wiped his forehead, looking as if he just went through performing a heart surgery. Quickly grabbing the bottle of pain pills, he stood up and held it out to me. "Take at least two, but no more than four depending on how badly it hurts right now. I warn you, it will probably get worse throughout the night because of the medical cloth. But that holds your ankle in place as it heals. You can take another dose in six hours, so choose wisely on your dosage, Jenny." Staring at me for a few moments more, as if he were searching for something in my expression he turned and grabbed one of those plastic cups they set out for guests on the little counter. He filled it with water from the sink, and then brought it to me. Once I took it, he folded his arms and waited to me to take the pills as if he were a dutiful father looking after his own. Shakily, I opened the bottle and took out three. My ankle was bearable now, but if he was right and it's going to get worse throughout the night… I just need enough to be able to handle it. Taking one after the other, while sipping at the lukewarm tap-water between each pill, I managed to get them all down without gagging.

Handing the bottle back to him, refusing to make eye contact, he took it and put everything back in the kit then put that back behind the mirror. I heard his soft footsteps on the carpet as he came back over to me. A shiver ran up my spine as he put his hands on either side of me, gripping the arms of the chair so I was not allowed to move from my spot. His face was an inch from mine once again, but I turned my head away from him and stared down at the surface of the table beside me. I could feel his hot breath on my neck as he tenuously bent down to brush his lips over that sensitive area behind my ear. Suddenly the aura in this room became much more dangerous. When Julian was wrapping my ankle, I was wary but I didn't feel like this. He was blocking my way to the door, and I wanted to get out of here even if it meant crawling all the way back home. I reached up with a shaking hand to push him away, but he grabbed it instead and began kissing the underside of my wrist.

"Do you know how long I have wished for this to happen… to have you alone with no chance of getting interrupted… to be able to kiss and caress you as much as I desire." Suddenly my head snapped up in awareness. Emotions began to flood back through me as my conscious sent me warning sirens of danger. Realization hit me once more as I knew what he was ensuing… not just with his words but with the tone of his voice; dark and seductive and… completely at ease with the knowledge that he was in control. This was bad… My eyes made contact with his shocking blue, as I searched for any sign of him joking, or just softness… a chance of mercy. Julian the Shadow Prince only had this look in his eyes a couple times… and thank god I was never in his grasp when he did. That look of a starving tiger's…. unfathomable lust and wanting. But now… here I was. And there WAS no one to save me, I AM in his grasp, and I am crippled. A gasp flew from my lips as I leaned away from him. A slow and terribly dark smile crept upon his lips as his hand reached behind my head, tangling his fingers in my hair as he pulled my face towards his. Full panic mode, I began to scream; but he swallowed it as his lips possessed mine. I struggled and tried to pull away but it was to no avail. He pinned my wrists to the arms of the chair with his hands, and was leaning so far over me that I had no wiggling room.

I want Tom, I want Tom, I WANT TOM! A child's voice began to scream and scream inside my head. It was overwhelming. Before Julian died, and he managed to press his lips to mine, a rather dark and giddy emotion used to envelop me. Yes I was afraid, and I knew it was wrong, but there was always that temptation in the back of my mind that wanted me to KEEP kissing him. To allow him to show me how much love he possessed for me… but now? This wasn't the Julian I thought I knew… He used to be rather forceful, but he would stop once he knew I had had enough. Not now though. Tears began to run down my face as a sob wracked my body. My fists were clenched so tightly that my knuckles had turned white. He pulled away as soon as the sob broke free from my lips and he looked me over like a therapist would on his experimental patient.

As soon as he let my wrists go, I brought my hands up to cover my face as the tears and sobs unleashed like demons from hell. I would rather be ANYWHERE than here… I was alone and no one knew where I was or what happened. Even my friends wouldn't suspect that Julian came back to life and kidnapped me. They knew it was possible but because I had had no nightmares of Julian, they would push that possibility out. And even if they did find out it was him, they wouldn't find me. Julian caught me completely off guard and I fell into his clutches without even knowing it. He had this planned. These thoughts whizzed through my mind within mere seconds and the sobs became more and more worse; up to the point the my entire body was convulsing. I had never broken down like this before, even when I thought that Tommy was going to break up with me a couple months ago when Julian messing with me.

I heard Julian sigh quietly, and then felt he hands gently clasp around my wrists. He pulled my hands away from my face as I stared back at his blurry image. I knew my eyes were red, and I looked like complete hell. But I didn't care anymore; I just wanted to go home. My sobs had now turned to sniffles as I waited to see what he would do next. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and began to wipe my tears away with his thumb, gently caressing my cheek. Tilting his head, with glowing blue eyes, he asked "Jenny Thornton… you truly are afraid of me, aren't you?" A sudden cracked laugh burst out, as I pushed his hands away. "Are you serious?... You KNOW I am afraid of you! What reasons do you have for me NOT to be?" His eyes grew a little darker in shade, and he said calmly. "Careful, Jenny… you really are not in the position to be sarcastic."

Finally, that blessed and familiar flame of anger erupted inside of my heart. "Screw you, Julian." He chuckled quietly, then suddenly stood back up, giving me room to breathe. "There you are Jenny. I thought I lost you for a moment." I stared up at him in shock as he began to pull his shirt off, showing a perfectly carved and tone body beneath. Pale marble like skin that practically glowed with perfection as my eyes wandered down his sculpted abdomen to that v-shape on the front of his hips. His jeans hung low from his hips as he ran his fingers through his shocked-white hair, and stared down at me with an expression of relief. I could feel warmth running through my cheeks at his sudden loss of clothing. Then as quickly as it came, it disappeared. He folded his arms and looked me straight in the eye. "I have some things to tell you that you aren't going to like." I bit my lip, and remembered what he said in the motel lobby. 'I wouldn't do that if I were you, Jenny… I'll tell you the reasons once we are in our room.'

"First of all, I have changed since my rebirth. I am no longer interested in games and rules. No more riddles for a kiss, or tricks with silver roses. If I want to kiss you, I will kiss you; whether you want it or not. I will touch you whether you want it or not." I hissed a sharp intake of breath at his words. But he held up his hand before I could protest and scream. "Do you remember my dear friends the Creeper and the Lurker? Ever since this past evening, they have been stationed around your house. And upon my whim, I can have them harm or even kill any one of your family members. From them, I will move too your friends depending on your behavior and actions."

I went slack jawed…. The Creeper and The Lurker… were outside my house…. The sudden and sickening vision of the shadow man cracking open my brothers ribcage before my eyes hit me with a force. Blood drained from my face. "Not only that, Jenny, but you have to listen to me." A growl ripped from my throat at the sound of that. It sounded as if he was ensuing I were his pet.. his slave. "No, no, no. Not like that. This is where the second part comes in. See… where the shadow men live, Jenny…. We have a sort of governmental president in Nifleheim. A king so you could say." Shaking my head as he jumped from one horrific degree to another, I tried to catch up. Nifleheim? His world… why is he bringing this up?"

"There was a reason I was reborn… and it wasn't my doing sadly. There is a Shadow Man named Quinn… He is the oldest of all of us. He brought me back because he wants me to bring you to him. I am sure I was not allowed to tell you this, and he is probably watching with care this very moment… but I honestly do not care. I think you should know what is planned for you. So in order to get us through this, you need to do as I say"

Staring up at him gravely from my chair feeling as if an entire new level of messed up-ness had reached me, I said "And what IS planned for me, Julian?"

"That's the thing… I have no idea."

….

Allowing her to process that, I went into the bathroom and shut the door knowing she would be staring at the exit. But I knew she wouldn't leave… she cared too much for her family and friends. I hoped it wouldn't come to harming her in that way, but it was my only leverage. Not only did the infamous Quinn allow ME into this world, but also my companions. And they were indeed skulking around Jenny's home waiting for my command.

I faced myself in the mirror, staring at a monster with ethereal beauty. I gripped the sides of the sink, and watched as my image glared threateningly back at me. I had to come in here for a moment alone… Jenny's expressions of a few previous minutes ago were haunting me. This feeling in the pit of my stomach would not go away, and the longer I was in there with her, telling her what was going on, the images were getting worse. I had only felt this emotion a couple times before and I absolutely hated it. I felt it when I found out Jenny had almost drowned then froze in that cave because of my stupid ignorance and anger. I felt it when I made her go through her nightmare alone in the first game… but this felt worse. When I forced myself onto Jenny, I did truly and utterly desire her. I planned on claiming her as my own, making the bond we made with the rings consummated. But those unearthly sobs… it felt like something broke inside of me.

I realized as these thoughts traveled through my mind, my head had bowed, with my hair hanging over my eyes as if I no longer wanted to see the monster in the mirror.


	7. Chapter 7

(I am way too excited about writing this story…. I feel like an obsessive mad-woman.)

Splashing cold water on my face, I walked back out of the bathroom without a second glance at the image in the mirror behind me. Sure enough, Jenny was sitting in that chair with a far-off gaze while she stared at the only way out of the bedroom. In all honesty she looked bedraggled; as if she had been put through hell. For more than I cared to admit I was once again jealous of her Tommy. I know that at this very moment she wished she was in his arms, being her only source of comfort that was needed. I wanted to be that person… I would give anything to take her into MY arms, and feel her hold me back. I wanted to be the one she would tell her secrets to… her desires and pains; although I already knew each and every individual one already.

I sat on the bed tiredly and watched as the sleeping pills I had put into the first-aid kit for Jenny began to take hold of her. I could see the slight shock in her expression as her body began to get more and more drowsy, she looked over at me with a pleading look. "I can't believe I ever felt anything for you…"…..Standing up, I stepped up to her and picked her up with the utmost gentleness I could possibly aspire. "Please don't…" she mumbled as her eyes fluttered shut. She didn't have to finish, I knew she was begging me to not take advantage of her while she slept; and I didn't even have to consider it. There would be no pleasure in making her mine while she was out. I wanted her to remember her first time… but even more so, I wanted it to be the best moment of her life; which would be impossible, if things kept going the way they were.

Setting her down on the bed, her body now limp in my arms, I was glad that her body responded so quickly to the pills I slipped her. It was no surprise though… seeing as how her body probably hasn't digested anything within the past twenty four hours. I shook my head at the sight of what she had become since my death, and once again promised myself that my fellow shadow men would pay dearly for her suffering. I was going to wait until morning, but my body was still buzzing with adrenaline from this nights circumstances. All in all, everything had gone fine so far. Slipping my shirt back on, not understanding why it was so important to wear this much clothing when going out into public areas, I took one last glance at jenny as I slipped back out into the rain.

Sauntering back into the lobby where that insufferable boy stood, I asked him where the nearest grocery store was. "About five miles away there is a Wal-Mart…. Does that work?" I nodded, as the name struck a chord of memories of watching Jenny and her friends walk around the place looking for snacks for their slumber parties. "I came here in a taxi and do not have my own ….telephone. Is there any way you could call for their services to send me one?" I knew 'telephone' wasn't the right word, but I could not remember what Jenny and her friends called their own little talking devices for the life of me. I never had need of one since my only companions and brethren would either speak through whim of the mind, or meet once we were summoned together through a dream. "Uh… yeah, sure." He said dumbly as he picked up a phone behind his desk and began to sift through the book of numbers. I tapped my fingers impatiently as he called taxi services and waited for the car to arrive. Ten minutes later a honk sounded outside, and I asked for the nearest "Wal-Mart" The taxi driver looked rather upset that he was called to take a man to a grocery store at almost six in the morning. But after assuring him that he will be paid well, he sped me away to the store. The driver parked and waited for me to come back with a rather nice tip in his hands as I walked inside and decided to grab a container for the objects in which I thought Jenny and I would need. I walked each and every isle, grabbing the things in which I had seen Jenny use upon a daily basis. A brush, soap, shampoo and conditioner, toothbrush and toothpaste, even deodorant; and when I reached the clothing section I grabbed quite a few packs of underwear, making sure everything was extra small in size based upon the size of her small frame. Socks, and anything I thought would look best on her, but anything she would wear in public I made sure would not look too promiscuous… mostly because I didn't want to have to murder any wandering eyes that found her. From pajamas, to swimwear; once I got to shoes though I was dumbfounded… I did not know her size. So I grabbed some 'flip-flops' and sandals that looked about the size of her feet.

Thankfully I came at last to the grocery section and began to buy all of the things in which I knew she loved. From childhood up to now; pop-tarts, things for sandwiches, her favorite juices and quite a few different assortments of sweets. Feeling extremely proud of myself that I was able to acquire all of the things in my basket with ease, I smiled to myself as I headed for the only open register in the entire store. I was rather confused as why there were at least twenty places to get in line but only one was open… I gave the required amount of cash to the lady at the register, and took my basket to the awaiting taxi-cab outside. The rain had let up and the sun was beginning to peak over the mountains of nearby Nevada. I piled everything into the back, and sat down to stare out the window as we headed back towards my Slumbering Jenny.

Carrying the armfuls of bags, I wrestled myself into the door of our room. A rising anxiety that somehow Jenny disappeared by the time I got back vanished with relief as she lay in the exact position I left her. Setting the bags down by the side of the bed, I began to pull out everything. Putting all of the toiletries required into the bathroom. Setting the clothes into a corner, and the food along with it I yawned and smirked down at the light to my dark. I wasn't going to take advantage… but I never said anything about allowing her to have the bed to herself. Setting the alarm upon the bedside desk, I sighed Quietly lying beside her peaceful figure, I fell asleep feeling as if I myself was somehow in a dream of my own..

…..

Jolting awake in a haze of confusion, I found myself lying in white sand that had been warmed by the sun for a few hours at least. Quickly standing alert, I dusted the sand off myself, gazing at the most beautiful waters I had ever beheld. The sun blazed overhead, glistening on an ocean the color of someone's eyes… A warm breeze whipped at my hair as I was finally able to tear my gaze away from the glorious view. I turned around to try to get a better idea of how I even got here… The last thing I remember is sitting in that godforsaken dim-lit motel room in the arms of Julian as he carried me to the bed. That BASTARD! Either those pain pills had some sort of malfunction or he put me out! I gritted my teeth in anger, letting a growl of frustration let out. This was so far out of my hands that I could no longer keep up with this madness. Julian's moods changed very quickly and within a matter of seconds. That much I knew… but from treating me gently, then assaulting my mouth with his, and THEN turning around and threatening my family's and friend's lives based upon his whims and some person named…. Quinn? I think? That could very well be a lie just to get me to go with him…

These ranting's blared through my skull as I walked up a rather steep slope of sand. I reached the top and a few yards in front of me were palm trees. It was so perfect looking that it could be filmed on one of those commercials promoting traveling and I would pack up and GO. The only thing distorting the beautiful oasis was that there was a hammock slung between two palms a few more yards in… and someone was lying in it with their hand hung over the side holding a can of Coca-Cola. I glanced around, everywhere else was sand dunes rising and falling. No one else but this one person… I could see the back of his head. Dark locks of silky glistening hair the color of raven's feathers blew in the beach breeze. I stepped forward, my bare feet enjoying the sensation of the cool shaded sand. He stopped rocking in his hammock as I got close enough to be just a few feet away. Suddenly sitting up, and turning to face me, I was greeted by the most perfect and stunning face any male could possess. I took a few steps back, feeling my eyes go as wide as saucers.

(this scene is inspired by Taylor Swifts Knew You Were Trouble)

A perfect white smile flashed across his features as he stood. Shirtless, and with shorts that hung from his hips. Same marble-white skin as Julian's…. Julian was just as beautiful as this man but in a totally different way. Julian's allure was danger and mystery; seduction. The man standing before me… his aura screamed power and a charisma so infectious that it was like a poison. I was afraid immediately… because I felt drawn to this person right as my eyes met his. Violet iridescence gleamed back at me with pure amusement. It was almost like the time I first saw Julian…. I forgot Tom's existence. But… I hadn't forgotten Julian; and for some reason that made me very angry with myself.

The man was barefoot just like me, and looked completely at ease with himself. I knew at this very moment that I had to be dreaming; for more than one reason that I would ever admit to…

"Jenny Thornton…. I've heard so much about you. The pleasure is mine."

I just stood and stared.

…

Awakening to an annoying beeping noise, I reached over to find the source and destroy it. I growled as I realized it was out of reach, then pulled myself up blearily from the source of warmth my other arm was wrapped around. I blinked a few times as I realized I must have rolled onto my stomach during the night, and turned to stare at the person lying beside me. Jenny was now curled up against me, muttering indecipherable noises in her sleep. I laid there for a few moments just staring in shock… then remembered everything that had happened the previous night. Suddenly the annoying beeping noise found its way back to my ears, and I turned to see an alarm flashing on the lamp table beside our bed. It read 2 pm. Ah yes… I remember that I somehow managed to set it last night after I came back from the store.

I reluctantly lifted my arm that was wrapped around Jenny's waist, reached over and turned it off. Sitting up and stretching lithely, once again I faced jenny. This time though I knelt above her, my entire body encaging hers beneath my own. My hair hung down as I began to kiss her neck delicately. "Jenny…." I whispered softly, reveling in the scent of fresh rain that clung to her skin. "Jenny…" More mumbling noises escaped her lips as she quietly rolled over so she was on her back. Rubbing her eyes, she squinted up at me. Moaning with frustration, she put her hand on my chest and pushed me away weakly. "Get… off!"

Chuckling I rolled off of her, and then landed on the floor with the ease of a large cat. I stretched once more, running my hand through my bed head hair. I couldn't help but notice Jenny staring at me as I walked around the bed. "You… You slept in the bed with me!" Before I could respond, she kept going. "You dosed me!" She lifted up the blankets checking to see if her clothes were still on her. Smirking at her, I picked up one of the plastic bags of clothes I had picked for her and tossed it to her. She sat up and stared into it, then looked up at me with a slack-jawed look… "you went to… Wal-Mart?... When?...how?!" I tilted my head at her and frowned. "You sound as if you doubt that it was possible for me to do such a thing."

She shook her head and quietly sifted through the clothes in the bag. "A hairbrush, shampoo, conditioner and soap are all in the bathroom waiting for you in case you wish to shower and refresh yourself." Her head snapped back up, her eyes filled with suspicion.

"I swear upon my life that I will not walk in while you are at such an exposed state." I held my hand up in solemnity. She considered it for a moment, then slowly began to untangle herself from the blankets to get out of the bed.

….

I wanted to hit him with all my might… but it would do nothing but make him turn angry. I couldn't deal with anymore threats or pain. He really has no conscious…Just before my feet touched the floor, Julian suddenly leaped towards me with an anxious expression. "Whoa whoa whoa! I think you have forgotten about your ankle, Jenny love." Blood rushed to my cheeks as embarrassment blazed through my chest. He was right… I was about to put my ankle through hell once more… I tenuously moved my right foot around, and was surprised to find only the slightest pain shooting through it. I would never admit it but Thank You almost escaped my mouth once I realized that if it hadn't been for him my ankle would still be broken at an odd angle. Then again it was his fault in the first place… before my train of thought could finish, I was being lifted of bride-style and carried into the bathroom. "What are you DOING!" He set me on the edge of the bathtub as I retorted and glared at him vehemently. He leaned over the side of the tub right next to me and turned the water on.

"Stay here, I will bring you your clothes. Keep your bad foot out of the water while you bathe." He put in the stopper in the bathtub, checked the temperature of the water once more, then got up and walked out. This is what I meant… one minute he is angry and overpowering, next thing he is making a bath for me. I sighed and held my face in my hands for a moment. He was too much to keep up with…

Walking back in with the sack of clothes, he brought a hairbrush over to me. Set the shampoo, conditioner, and soap on the edge of the bathtub. Put a towel on the floor within my arms reach for when I was done bathing, then without a second glance walked out and shut the door swiftly. I stared at the door for a few moments as the soothing sound of rushing bathwater finally made the muscles in my shoulders loosen. I somehow managed to slip out of my pajama shorts and the rest of my clothing without falling into the bathtub, then gently lowered myself into the perfectly temperatured water. I closed the shower curtain just in case Julian decided to pull something funny, then sat back and let the warm water sooth my body. I washed and scrubbed my entire body twice over, wishing that it would wash of the revolting memories of last night. And as I massaged the conditioner into my scalp, a sudden new memory wafted into my mind. I had a dream last night… I met someone I had never met before. But I had this irking feeling that I knew who it was and if I was right… I needed to tell Julian in case of further information.

The images of that beautiful beach, and the man bowing then holding his hand out to me struck a chord of deep fear within me. Julian said he was the oldest of them all…. Julian was the youngest… and look what he was capable of. Whatever this thing had in store for her… she most likely was not going to make it out alive.

…..

I had opened a package of poptarts ready and waiting for Jenny when she came out. And as I was sitting on the bed deciding if I should have given her a warmer pair of clothes, the bathroom door opened. A scent of honey and almonds wafted out with the warm mist from the hot bathwater, as a refreshed looking jenny stepped out in a pair of shorts and a tank top. Flip flops on her feet. I couldn't help but smile at her outfit, happy that I had made that choice of clothing for her. But she was going to wear a jacket just in case… As I stood up to make sure she could make it out of the bathroom okay, I caught a glimpse of her expression. It seemed strained…. Something was on her mind. And It wasn't just the fact that she had been kidnapped by me. I knew her facial features too well.

She gazed at me for a moment, then leaned against the doorway. "Julian… I have to tell you something. I had a dream last night… and there was someone there that I have never seen before." My body snapped into alert mode, and I clenched my fists. A deep hatred and anger coursed through my veins…. How DARE HE.. on the first night I have her alone with me he invades her dreams…. "Tell me, Jenny… Did he have black hair.. violet eyes?" As she nodded, the next thing I knew was that I had the bedside lamp in my hands and I had hurled it at the wall with such a force that it broke the part of the wall it hit. Jenny had her face covered with her arms now in fear of the shattering glass from the lamp hitting her. She wobbled uneasily with all her weight on one leg now, then began to fall forward. I caught her with ease and stared hard at the mirror behind her. My eyes had faded to a dark, dark blue. "I am sorry Jenny… I swear upon my life you will never meet him in reality."

(How did you like Julian shopping in Wal-Mart? XD I thought it would be rather comedic to imagine the Prince of Shadows shopping for Jenny. On a more serious note, honest opinions on the story so far? I feel like I am hopping around a lot. The setting keeps changing, emotions keep changing. It feels so busy that it might be getting boring for the reader…. HONEST OPINIONS!)


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

(Apologies for the over-month relapse, writers block and other unreasonable excuses. But here we go! Starting a new and awesome chapter!)

I couldn't help but chuckle all throughout the following morning. It would strike me anywhere at any given time. When Joey handed me a live report on the goings on in the UK, or when I was getting a refill on my special brewed coffee. Infectious fits of giggles would break loose from my throat. Of course I would get a nervous glance from all of the depressing fellows around me, but with one sharp glare they would scatter like cockroaches. Which is exactly what most of them are; save for the little prince of shadows, Julian and a few select others. What happened to the dark ages? When with one small whisper in the night, humans would flee entire villages and run off into the dark to fall into my hungry arms… Now I am in the boring repetitiveness of scaring off my own kin.

But FINALLY something has come up that made this dull and endless immortality seem a little brighter than normal. And that something's name is Jenny… Jenny Thornton to be exact. At first I though Julian's petty obsession that started years ago was comical and rather disturbing; but upon watching the human girl fight not only for her own life, but her dear friends… The light that seemed to glow from her hair and eyes and… Well, it's been a long time since I have played a game of my own… and winning the prize from the young prince of shadows… I know this is going to be even more fun than ever imagined.

Quinn grinned as he set down at his desk, sitting in his usual position of having his elbows set on his desk and his chin resting in his hands contemplatively. That ever present smile of half-insanity and amusement resting upon his lips. He couldn't get the image out of his head, of the human girl standing in the bare sand, staring at him with unwilling curiosity. Something about that girl sent a surge of excitement through him. Perhaps it was the pure innocence in her eyes that even still shows strongly after everything Julian had put her through. Or maybe it was just the fact that she looked so tantalizingly interesting. Jenny may not be the most beautiful human girl in the world, but she was very close to it. And not just because of her enticing physical features… her soul was pure. Not many of those still existed in the human world after the stage of being a toddler.

She definitely was a prize worth being won… even if it meant cheating.

…

I woke up with someone pounding on my door, calling my name. Another night with only a few hours of sleep…. I rubbed my eyes as I groggily headed towards my bedroom door. I opened the door to see my dad looking as if he was about to break the door down if I hadn't opened it at that very moment.. He pushed past me, and began to look into my closet. When he headed to my bed and looked under it, I was finally awake enough to realize that this was abnormal behavior even for my dad. "Dad…. What the heck are you doing?" I watched with confusion as my dad sighed and slowly stood up, facing me with this resigned expression of worry on his face. Fear seeped into me…

"Tom…. Jenny's father just called me. Jenny is missing." I felt the entire world around me turn black as I stared at my father in speechless shock… "Jenny's…. missing?... HOW!" Before my dad could even respond I began pulling on my jeans and grabbing the nearest shirt out of my closet. I heard broken bits of my dad telling me to calm down, and that he thought Jenny might have snuck over here and spent the night with me. Oh god, how I wished that were the case…. The only thing that was running through my head that seemed logical, was to go and see for myself. I slipped on my shoes without even bothering to lace them, and ran out the front door of the house. I saw a glimpse of my mother sitting at the table with her head in her hands, and coffee spilled all over the newspaper in front of her. She knew Jenny wasn't in my room…

As I slammed my car door shut, and turned on the ignition, I squealed out of my driveway and headed towards Jenny's house in a sort of daze. I knew one thing for sure, Jenny wouldn't run away… No. She was too brave to run. The only reason she would run would be to protect others… and the only thing Jenny couldn't protect her friends or family from would be something unnatural. AKA shadow men…

….

I didn't know what I should be more afraid of; Julian's reaction to what I began to try to tell him, or what caused Julian's reaction… I knelt in his arms with wide eyes, looking at the newly broken glass shattered all over the tacky motel room floor. His heaving chest pressed against my ribcage as he held me tightly in his arms. It seemed as if we stayed in that position for quite a while until his breathing finally slowed and he slowly pulled away holding me by my shoulders. I reared back, but he held me in place, his fingers digging into my flesh. His eyes that were always that luminous blue, had turned dark and grey; suddenly, I regretted telling him anything. I couldn't tell if he was about to kill me, or blow up the whole world because I had a dream of a beautiful stranger with violet eyes…"Jenny, you know this already. In your dream… you saw Quinn. I don't know why he wants you. And until I find out, we have to play along with his plan. I apologize for my reaction. Please don't think the anger was directed towards you. But Jenny, these dreams, they are going to get worse. This is how he plays. They will even get to the point of happening while you are awake. But no matter how BAD they are, you have to tell me. I have been around, and heard enough of Quinn to know he is very metaphorical to such an extent that not many people can interpret them anymore."

As this information seeped into my mind, a cold feeling spread throughout my body. They are going to get worse?... That dream wasn't really truly bad though… just strange. "Tell me about what happened in this dream of yours, Jen." I couldn't help but notice him calling me Jen… pet names already? Really? I sighed and crossed my arms. "I woke up on some beach, and began to look around. Then I saw this guy sitting in this hammock in this sort of oasis some way off from the water." Julian nodded, his eyes seeming fierce with concentration as he tore apart my words, trying already to figure out what it meant.

"When I got closer, he stood up and faced me. He was very…." Julian eyed me suspiciously. "The only way I can explain it is that he seemed very powerful…" Julian nodded with slight relief. "Any human that has ever seen Quinn normally is at LEAST fascinated with him. Don't fall for his looks and cunning Jenny. It's how he lures his prey in, he doesn't even have to chase his them. They come to him."

I nodded shakily, and continued. "He introduced himself as Quinn, and seemed very formal. But he had this creepy smile on his face the whole time… He told me that he had big plans for me and you. And something about how he hasn't had this much fun in centuries; I don't really remember anything after that. The whole scene went black and next thing I know, is that I am waking up with you over me."

And just like that, (which is normal for Julian) without another word, Julian let me go, stood up and swiftly brushed past me. Plopping a rather large suitcase that I didn't think was in here last night, he began to take out clothes from at least ten Wal-Mart bags and cram them into the suitcase. I used the doorframe as my stabilizer as I wobbly pulled myself back up. Was it something I had said to make him not even respond? I shrugged it off, as I couldn't help but be fascinated by this inhuman man before me; his hair hung in his eyes as he packed things away with this ferocious grace that could only be described as predatorial. His long, slender fingers snatched and tucked with precision. I guess I must have been watching him for a while because before I knew it, he was on the last bag. Glancing up at me with an annoyed expression, he pointed at the bathroom behind me; "Go grab everything. Soaps, shampoos, even the first aid kit."

I glanced behind me then looked at him once more. I knew the answer already, but it still felt wrong so I had to protest. "But… some of that stuff belongs to the motel…" Suddenly he started laughing, swiping the hair from his eyes as he glanced at me with adoration in his expression. "Oh yes, my Jenny still has a conscious." He stepped towards me within a flash, and suddenly I felt his cool lips pressing against my forehead. A gasp escaped my lips, but before I could utter a word he pressed a finger to my lips. "Well here is the solution, love. I simply don't care. Now go along." Then he went back to the suitcase.

Before he did anything else that made the room around me spin, I limped back into the bathroom and began to fill my arms with anything and everything in sight. I could have argued... but the state he got into just a few moments ago, or last night… I didn't want to risk anything more happening just because stealing from a motel is wrong. As I picked up the last thing, I turned around to head back into the room and bumped right into Julian's chest. A muffled "Hey!" escaped my throat as he swiftly took everything out of my arms and carried it back to the already overloaded bag. Dropping everything into the bag, he quickly shut it and zipped it up. I stared as he suddenly swiped a pair of sunglasses off the bed that I am pretty sure wasn't there last night either…

Holding out the sunglasses to me, I glanced down at them confused as I carefully took them off of his outstretched hand. "We can't let anyone recognize you dear Jenny. I am sure by tonight the entire nation will see your face on their television screen, and even a mere pair of sunglasses can avert prying eyes... Well, hopefully. You do manage to draw everyone's attention wherever you go..." My head snapped up to see his face turn from sly to a sudden flash of jealousy that disappeared as quickly as it came. "But of course, you never seem to notice that, do you?" He slung the bag over his shoulder and held his elbow out towards me.

I took a deep breathe, and slowly stepped forward, slipping my arm through his. I felt ashamed that I was knocked down to this level. If this was the first night I had met him, I would have scoffed. But, this wasn't about me. It was about the safety of my friends and family.

…

Quinn was planning something very much out of the ordinary… If he ever wanted a particular human, he would mess with their head until they went insane, then had them run right into his arms out of sheer fear. He never had one of the shadow-men go and fetch them for him. But then again, he never had a human come into the shadow world to his very presence either. This was going to involve such an ancient magic that most likely none of my other kin even remembered it; including myself, of course.

Strangely the fear that even the mention of Quinn's name would induce had vanished entirely from me; instead of feeling afraid and wanting to cower…. I felt stronger than ever. I was willing and ready to do anything to keep Jenny as my own, safe and sound.

I was rather shocked that she succumbed so quickly to my outstretched arm. Normally Jenny would be fighting back with all the spirit she had in her. I was prepared to dose her with more sleeping pills this morning, in fact. Due to the fact that others lives were threatened though, I could tell her to jump off of a cliff and she would succumb. That annoying twinge tugged at my heart once more as we headed towards the door. With a nod at her sunglasses in her hands, she slipped them on her face, and we walked out into the afternoon sunlight. Next stop, Las Vegas, Nevada.


	9. Chapter 9

My World Overtaken Chapter 9

I stared out at the dusty desert, with shocking blue skies above in contrast to the baking sand on the Nevada earth. We were speeding down the highway, less than an hour from the City that Never Sleeps. My elbow was propped on the sill of the window in the 1967 Chevy impala that Julian managed to rent from a Car rental place a few hours ago. At first I was amazed, because I never imagined Julian, the Shadow Prince of the ninth dimension, could in fact drive a car; let alone have good taste in them. I was done and over with passing him sidelong glances to see the strange sight of a deep-in-concentration Julian whose hands rested on the steering wheel as if they had been doing so for years. But why was I even surprised anymore? Julians whole element was surprise. He was the exact definition of things unexpected. Sighing, I redirected the AC to blow on my face. The Nevada sun was worse than Cali by far, although I somehow appreciated it based upon the fact that from everything I have been through for the past twenty-four hours, I wasn't in such shock that I couldn't feel the burning sun on my arms.

A mere few seconds being trapped in the same space as the inhuman thing beside me felt like hours. Which you can imagine was more torturous than what could be comprehended because I had been forced to stay by this asshole for a whole day now… I suddenly shook myself, closing my eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath. I had to stop sulking in my own misery, and begin to look for solutions.

Almost as if Julian felt my sudden change in mood, he spoke for the first time in hours to me. "Well, what do you say Jen, should we stop for a night in the land of gambling and liquor?" My head whipped in his direction as I sneered at him and his stupid smirk that always tugged at his beautiful lips. "No, Way. I am not going to try and "enjoy" my time with you, which is exactly what I know you are doing. I can tell when you get an idea in your head so get rid of it now because it's NOT HAPPENING." Okay yeah… I was in a grumpy mood. My body was achy, my ankle was still throbbing slightly, and every second I was a further distance from home. But I knew what he was trying to do, and it wasn't going to work. Whether he really was considering stopping in Vegas or not, I was not entertaining the idea at all.

A sudden image of Julian and I walking down the strip with Vegas memorabilia covering us, actually struck me as rather amusing. Then my mind took a turn in a new direction of thought… wait a second… what if we DID stop in Vegas… There are thousands and thousands of people walking around there no matter what time of day or night. It would be a huge opportunity. All I would have to do is ask to go to the bathroom… or make a break for it. My body suddenly flinched as if reprimanding me, Jenny you can't just make a break for it! It's not just your life in danger. I gulped as images of my friends and family being torn apart by the Creeper and the Lurker rampaged into my mind. Gritting my teeth and shaking my head to shake myself of the disgusting images, my mood returned to the same it had been within the blink of an eye. I slumped in my seat and groaned. It felt like a punch to the gut when Julians melodious laughter rang out, filling the entire space of the vehicle. I looked back at him in surprise as he gracefully flicked his frosty white hair out of those intensely blue eyes. His body looked so beautiful and at ease in the drivers seat. The sun shone through his hair making it almost look as if there was a halo around his head. It made my heart ache even more as I battled that ever present yearning for him.

"Oh dear, is Jenny going through an internal conflict?" He swept a sidelong glance at me, smiling that cheeky smile that made my stomach twist even more. How could he tell? … Answering the question in my mind as if I somehow spoke it out loud, he replied amusedly: " Babe, your face is like an open book. I know how badly you must crave to get out of this wretched car with me, let alone to run back home to your precious Tommy and beloved family. But I am glad you are smart enough to realize the consequences of those temptatious ideas." He then raised his hand gracefully and shook his finger, tsking. "The sooner you accept that you are mine, the sooner it will stop hurting you Jen."

I tched, and went back to looking out the window, my face scrunched into a look I can only guess would be described as hateful. Making sure he COULDN'T see my expression, I sat there the rest of the way imagining colorful ways of Julian dying.

….

"Sebastian! Get your ass in here!" I shouted loudly, feeling extremely annoyed. I watched all night as the beloved Julian possessively made Jenny his. I watched when he forced himself upon her, seeing the raw hunger in his eyes. I was about to intervene in all honesty just from one look at what seemed he was about to do. Thank god he had a soft spot for our prize or else he would have kept going even after the point of her crying. I watched when he laid her on the bed carefully, being able to touch her and tuck her in lovingly. He got to pick out her own clothing for gods sake! Soon he would realize that she was my doll to dress up, she was going to be MY toy to toy with! As I sat there and brooded, my chin resting in my hand as I burned a hole in the wall apposite of my desk. Finally, my office door opened and in came Sebastian.

See, here in Nifleheim, there is an order of sorts when it comes to Shadow men. Yes, there are the hundreds of disgusting leeches that wander this barren Iceland, searching for any kind of negative emotions to feed off of. Any kind of break in the dimension to crawl into another world of souls for the taking; but there was a select few you could say. An aristocracy as you would call it. Anyone I see fit and or worth working for me, I snatch up and take them into my humble "abode" From personal guards for when I leave the safety of my home/world, to lowly servants who soul purpose it to prepare my coffee throughout the day (which, if I may, they fail miserably at even THAT at times)

Point being, there is a purpose for why I chose them. They all have some kind of spark. No, sadly none of them are anywhere near as having a heart as the precious Shadow Prince, but even the smallest ounce of something other than hatred, lust, and hunger I find valuable. It means when they were created, something went wrong. Whether they were not invoked properly, or they had an experience different from the rest of us, each and every single one is a different type of gem. More importantly? They are mine and they bow to my every whim. But there is a hatred I always hold for them… I grow so bored and they never do anything unexpected. That is why Julian is so precious… he is the only one who defies me. The only other one would be my beloved "butler" who has an entirely different persona… Sebastian.

A cold grin stretched across my face as the tall figure clad in a butler-like tuxedo, gracefully swept into the room automatically bowing before me. You called, Sir?" My head tilted in amusement at the creature before me. In all honesty, Sebastian was the perfect specimen of attraction. Straight black hair that swept down touching his shoulder in the front, eyes that glowed the color of rubies, and flawless pale skin, he straightened up awaiting my next command.

"Sebastian, I have a mission for you that is not in sync with your usual errands you run." I gleam flashed in the demonic creatures eyes before me as a soft smile set upon his pale lips, "Oh? I will do as you command, my lord no matter the task you set for me." I nodded before he could even finish, knowing he would say that before he even spoke. "Yes, yes, I know." Annoyance hinted through my voice again. "I have a very special task that I trust only you with, my dear butler." I sat forward excitedly as I explained a girl with amber waves of hair, and eyes as green as cypress trees….

…

"Mrs Thornton please I know you are worried about Jenny, but I have to know! Is there ANYTHING you heard last night before you got up this morning?" I stood in the Thronton's living room pacing back and forth as the afternoon sun filtered into the artistically decorated room. I couldn't stand still, let alone sit. I knew the police had already questioned them, and through the tear-brimmed eyes of Jenny's mom I could tell she was questioning my sanity at the moment. But I didn't care, I wasn't going to sit around and twiddle my thumbs hoping Jenny would show up at the door someday. "Tom, I already gave the information to the police, I didn't hear anything at all, I just went into her room to get her laundry this morning and she was gone. Honey, I know you are worried, we all are. And I know you love her just as much as the rest of us do, but please don't try to take this into your own hands. Let the police do their jobs." I growled and ran my fingers through my short dark hair. "No they aren't! it hasn't even been twenty four hours! They haven't done shit! They have no idea what took Jenny!" I suddenly had to stop myself before anything else escaped my throat.

Jenny's dad who had been pale and quiet the entire time suddenly stood up and grabbed me by the arm as Jenny's mother held onto her only other child, Jenny's younger brother. As I was pulled into the kitchen by a man that I had known since elementary school and seemed like a second dad to me, he turned and faced me with anger and weariness in his eyes. "Tom… You know you are like a son to me, but I will not tolerate that kind of language in my household. I know that an extreme situation is going on and all of us are trying to handle it in our own ways but you need to snap out of this crazed determination that you think you can do something. You know as much as we do…. Don't you?"

I raised my head and made eye contact with Mr. Thornton, hearing a sudden suspicion in his voice. I desperately wished I could tell them that I knew these creatures called shadow-men were involved and jenny could very well be dead by now. At least if Julian were still alive, I would have the comfort in knowing that she would have a better chance of being alive. The thought kept creeping into my mind for the past several hours that kept saying Julian was involved, but it was only because it had become a habit. We watched him die. It was my hopes grasping for anything… Snapping out of it as Jenny's dad continued to stare at me curiously, I sighed and shook my head. "No… I have no idea what could have happened." The battered man before me took a sharp inhale and sat down suddenly, resting his forehead in his hand.

"I apologize, Tom. It's just I heard you in there shouting about how some THING took her that the police wouldn't understand… I guess we're all going a little crazy at this point right?" I forced and incredibly sad chuckle broke from his throat as he failed to lighten the situation. "Maybe it has something to do with when your guy's friend Summer disappeared… I know you guys all claim to not know anything about it but Summer came back alive… maybe whoever took her will let her come back too.."

I could no longer look at, yet stay in the same room as him. His giving up on hope was beginning to slither into me and I couldn't allow that to happen. I was Jenny's only hope at this point if she wanted to get out of wherever she was and whatever was going on. As I mumbled a "tell me if you hear anything." I grabbed my keys and headed towards the front door to get in the car and head over to Dee's. I needed someone strong to help me.. a fighter. As I grabbed for the handle and began turning it, a small "Wait…" halted me. I turned incredulously to see Jenny's little brother standing in the hallway, still in wrinkled pajamas and rubbing sleepy eyes. "I heard something last night… but I thought I was having a nightmare."

Walking over and kneeling in front of the little boy on one knee, my heart started beating again. I grabbed his arms and looked straight into his eyes. "What did you hear?" he glanced back into the living room making sure his mom didn't hear, then looked back at me with fear in his eyes. "I heard voices coming from Jenny's room… it was a guy's voice. I don't know what he was saying but I heard someone running down the hall… I think it was Jenny because they had no shoes on. So I got up and peeked out my door and I saw a guy walking after her quickly." He took a small breath and continued. And they disappeared out the front door.

It felt like everything around me froze as a cold creeping feeling entered my heart. A guy…. A guy? It couldn't have been a shadow man because he wouldn't have described it as "A guy" He would have said a cloaked figure or a thing. But it could have been a different Shadow man.. A Prince of sorts…I bowed my head as I felt my body begin to tremble... so, either some human being came into their house last night and chased jenny outside… or… I slowly looked back up at him. "Do you remember what he looked like?"

The little boy spoke with a curiosity in his voice. "He had white hair."

(Phew! Alrighty I just have one comment. For those of you who have not read the manga or watched the anime Black Butler, Sebastian will be a fun character to get to know. But for those of you who DO know of it, please allow me to apologize for pulling him in if anyone disagrees with it. I can always edit him out, i put him in out of whim because I thought he might go well with the storyline. He is a demon in the manga, but as L.J Smith described in the Forbidden Games book, Shadow men were believed to be many things human invented, one of them being Demons. So any input on me putting Sebastian in would be greeatly appreciated. For those of you who have no idea who I am talking about, google Sebastian Michealis or even better, watch the anime on Netlflix and you will know what I am talking about! XD but anyways, thanks for the wonderful supportive comments, I love seeing I have more views everyday, keep up the awesomeness!)


	10. Chapter 10

My World Overtaken Chapter 10

"Have you ever had sex on the beach?" I growled angrily and put my face in my hands. I was going to kill him… "Heh, the drink I mean…. Well, have you Jen?" I would figure it out. Someway, somehow, I was going to murder Julian. Here we were, sitting in one of the longest lines of traffic I have ever witnessed, staring out at the strip; our destination? Why, Caesar's Palace of course. Whatever amount of money Julian had shoved in his tight pockets, it was obviously endless because he wanted us to have "A fun experience." According to him, if he had to take me to some unknown destination based upon the whims of The Shadow King, we were going to have fun along the way… Or at least, until he figured out a way to get us out of this situation; although honestly, being forced to meet this Quinn guy, or having to spend an eternity with Julian? "Jenny! Look! …. I cannot tell if that is a man or a woman…. Erm, why does it have a snake around its neck?" Yeah. Quinn was sounding pretty good right now to be completely blunt.

It was rather mind boggling though, Las Vegas. Even though I could feel more and more anxious at the images in my mind of my parents worried faces, and Tom's shocked reaction that I was sure had already taken place at this point; the endless amount of people, buildings and neon billboards made my eyes go wide. The last time I was here was when I was around four years old. And we were just driving through in the night; we hadn't even gotten off of the highway. I looked up at a huge Chip'n'Dale's sign and blushed slightly as I saw a row of muscular looking men in nothing but thongs and bow-ties. Quickly looking away from the window, I regretted that decision immediately when Julian caught my gaze with the mischievous grin of his. "I am sure I could get us in if you would like me to, Jen" Gritting my teeth, I knew he caught me looking at the men's strip club sign. "No…Thank. You." I glared daggers at him as he shrugged and finally let off the brake and we began moving forward again.

"You really need to lighten up, Jenny. Enjoy life; after all, human's lives are so short. Take it in while it lasts." Sighing and suddenly pulling on the lever on the underside of my seat, I leaned back rubbing my temples. Knowing it was going to be said before he even said it, I growled once again in annoyed frustration as he continued. "As a matter of fact, you don't have to worry about that. I have planned on spending eternity with you since the day I first laid my eyes on you." Hearing the smirk in his voice, I knew he was relishing this alone time together.

…

It was extremely hard not to laugh, I could tell that my antics were wearing her to the bone for the past hour or so, but I did not care. I was in pure nirvana; for over ten years I had been watching this beautiful amber-haired girl growing up into a beautiful woman, in the arms of a man who didn't deserve her. What was happening at this very moment was something that happened only in my most far-fetched fantasies. No Tommy, no interference from my kin, and jenny safe-and-sound beside me whether she wanted to be there or not. Naturally, I still wished she was here on her own volition and not because she was keeping her friends and family alive. But it was still far more than I ever imagined could happen so easily.

As another stop-light approached, I slowed down glancing over at my precious angel once again. She looked exhausted still, and as skinny as ever, but I did notice warmth to her cheeks. Maybe even a slight sparkle of wonderment to her eyes. The only question was is it the lights and bustle of the city? Or was it because deep down, it felt right for her to be beside me; perhaps a little of both.

Twenty minutes later, much to the relief of Jenny itching to get out of the vehicle, we arrived in the underground parking section of Caesar's Palace. I called ahead and made reservations before we even went on the road, already having had this planned out before I even ran Jenny out of her home. Everything was going smoothly so far, but I could not get the irking feeling out of my blood that what happened last night would not sit well with Quinn. He was naturally possessive of things that he even partially had an attraction/wanting for. I didn't regret one moment of it though because of Quinn, Jenny has always been mine and he had better learn that sooner rather than later. The only regret I had was of making Her cry… With a low growl I quickly pushed the memory out of my mind as that damned pain punched me in the abdomen. Stepping out of the car and slamming the door, I came around to Jenny's side quickly although I knew full well she wouldn't be so stupid as to run. I opened the door and gave her a quick wink as she stepped out as well. Grabbing her hand possessively, I walked her around to the back of the impala and opened the trunk as I pulled out our small amount of luggage.

I could not help but stare as we arrived in the lobby from the elevator. It looked as if I had taken a step back in time into the Roman era… except there were people everywhere clad in either fashion or tourist garb. As we headed towards the front desk, I saw Jenny staring at the stone pool in the center of the lobby. Half smiling to myself, I appreciated her child-like innocence, making me even more proud to have her on my arm. Holding my head a little bit higher, and my eyes peering around at any sign of danger towards my Jenny, we reached the front desk. With my name, a quick flash of my ID (regrettably, thanks once again to Quinn ) and a few taps of the keyboard of a business looking desk clerk, we were given our room…. Card, and headed up to our room.

…..

Tapping away efficiently at the keyboard, the rather tall looking desk clerk dressed in a modernized tuxedo flicked his long black hair from his eyes as he peered up above the glasses that rested on his nose. A small smile flitted across his face as he watched the attractive looking couple quickly walk back towards the elevator. "Well, well… Right on time." Glancing around with an at ease expression, he stepped into the back room where only employees were allowed. Straightening his jacket, and heading towards the laundry room, a sudden hand was on his shoulder.

"Hey there buddy, thanks again for coming in at such short notice… You had a real lucky break actually. Right when you came in with your resume, Johnny called and quit. Guess god had planned for you to work here, eh?" With a small reassuring squeeze, the assistant manager of Caesar's Palace chuckled and stepped away from the brand new employee. Smiling, and with a flash of red in his eyes, the mysterious business clerk smirked and pushed his glasses back up on his nose a little higher. "Yes… God." With a grin still on his lips, he grabbed the nearest cart prepared for cleaning rooms, and began to steer out of the back towards the employee's elevator.

….

I watched as Julian set the bags at the foot of the bed. I bit my tongue as I tried to hold back the onslaught of remarks when once again, he got us a one-bed room. Dusting off his hands as if he had just finished a hard days work, he spun and faced me with a serious expression set upon his features. "What do you wish to do first, love?" Taking slow and deliberate steps towards me; "Take a quick shower with me before we hit the town?" I backed up as he got more and more close. "Maybe we should just spend the rest of the evening enjoying each others company inside…" Before I knew it, I had reached the opposite wall, and his arms were on either side of me. He stared into my eyes intently, his nose hardly even an inch from my own. For once I was at loss for words as I stared up at him with wide eyes, the sudden change in atmosphere had taken me completely by surprise; and the more I stared into those impossibly blue eyes a sharp wrenching feeling in my heart pulled me out of the trance that I had unknowingly fallen into within mere seconds.

Ducking under his arm, I walked towards the sliding doors that lead out onto a full view of the strip. The sun was setting in an orange sky, and the noise of people, vehicles and the bustle of the city took me into its heady embrace. I had to get a grip… No matter how much he annoyed me and how dangerous he was, that familiar feeling of wanting to fall for him kept coming back more and more strong with each relentless wave. Taking a deep breath and crossing my arms, I enjoyed the slight summer breeze that playfully tousled my hair in the evening air. I felt him behind me, more than heard him as he wrapped his arms around my waist softly, pulling me against him. I had to collect myself…. And I had to figure a way out of this situation still. While Julian seemed to be taking his sweet time on the whole Quinn scenario, I had more than just that to worry about. How the hell was I supposed to not only get out of the ever watchful gaze of Julian? Let alone the ancient Shadow Lord; while at the same time not risking the very lives of my family and friends. I decided to look at it in the way of some kind of puzzle; because if I keep looking at it from my emotional position, it would just make it all the more harder.

Torn away from my concentration, I felt cool lips pressed against my neck as Julian's arms held me even more tight. I shivered violently and wrenched my head to the side squeezing my eyes shut. I couldn't tell anymore if I was shivering in fear, or electrified curiosity. "I love you so much, Jen. You have no idea in all of the nine worlds how happy I am to have you in my arms right now." My eyes snapped open and I began to struggle to get out of his possessive grasp. He chuckled and just held me tighter, once again pressing his lips to my neck. "Why won't you just give in? You have been fighting me for so long, aren't you tired yet?" (This scene was inspired by the song Your Call: by Secondhand Serenade ) Before I could utter out a response even in my mind, a slight knocking sound made its way onto the terrace, and Julian's arms jerked off of me as we both looked at the door. My heart was pounding as ideas ran through my mind of who it could be. Maybe the police had somehow managed to find us? I could not help but smile even at the thought. What would Julian do if the police had found him out? It would be harder for him to hurt the ones I loved based upon the soul fact that they might realize it was him… But then again, Julian was not the type to ever back down from any kind of challenge. In fact it would make him even more angry… and even if they did lock him up and take him into custody, it wasn't like they could kill him or keep him imprisoned… He isn't human. He isn't even of this world.

The smile slowly slipped away as quickly as it came as I watched Julian take a few steps inside. "Who is it." It didn't really even sound like a question, there were extreme tones of suspicion and danger in his voice, and at first I was thinking that maybe he thought it might be the police too and he was getting ready to run. "Housekeeping!" A rather cheery male voice called from the other side of the door. Hmph. That's weird, you don't often hear a male maid… I stood in the doorway and watched Julian hold his ground. He didn't take a step towards the door, but he didn't back away either. He looked as if her were going through some internal conflict. His fists were even clenched so tightly that his knuckles seemed to be going white. "Come back LATER!" He suddenly shouted. His voice sounded so poisonous and deadly that I took a step back.

"Julian… it's just a person who comes to clean the room. You don't need to be so… aggressive." I said with a hushed tone, so only he could hear. I felt bad for the guy who was standing outside our door, if he was anything like me, he must have been scared half to death by that otherworldly threatening tone. As Julian whipped around and faced me with wild eyes, the voice responded with an almost eerie calm. "That is fine, I will return later then." Julian looked as if he saw a ghost, but as the footsteps outside the door grew more and more quiet, he seemed to finally gain his voice once again. "Jenny, we need to leave. Now."

…

Right when I heard the soft and serious tone from the other side of the door, I knew exactly who it was. And it was no damn housekeeping. I saw the confusion in jenny's expression. I knew I must have seemed like a mad man at this very moment, but I did not care. I didn't know how he got in, but the moment of happiness I had created for me and Jenny went crashing to the floor. I knew I thought I recognized those eyes downstairs… but I was so caught up in my surroundings that I pushed it from my mind. I should have known Quinn would not let me be alone with Jenny for very long, especially after that territorial move from last night. I growled angrily and began to pace the room. "I know we just arrived, but we really do need to leave. We aren't alone." Jenny stepped inside and sat on the bed, trying to gather her thoughts.

"Are you talking about the guy outside the door? Julian we didn't even see his face! It's just a hotel employee!" She gestured towards the door exasperatedly with a look of distress. "I don't want to be anywhere near you. I want to go home, I want to see for myself that everyone I love is safe, and I know that is impossible right now. But I would rather stay here and maybe be able to walk around and distract myself, then get back in that car with you. I could not stand another minute of being in that small of a space as you!" She looked at me pleadingly and I felt a pang of guilt rise in me. I knew she was tired of driving… she wasn't one to sit still for very long in a space she was uncomfortable. I sighed and ran my hand through my hair angrily.

"Jenny, Quinn is not only capable of just sending me here with no transgressions; that "hotel employee" out there?" I pointed in the direction of the hallway, "I will bet you anything that he just started work this very day. Hell, Jen, I wouldn't even be surprised if he arrived within the past hour. That is not a human. That thing that resides in the same building as us this very moment is nothing other than Quinn's right hand man." My entire being was rigid with unease as memories of the stories I heard about Sebastian echoed in whispers throughout my mind. "It calls itself Sebastian, and there is a REASON Quinn would send him. He gets things done in the most imaginative, horrifying way not even I can imagine." I kept pacing and glancing at Jenny as I tried to convince her we needed to leave this very moment, although I knew that in truth, if Sebastian was supposed to get Jenny, driving away from him would do nothing to help. It would just make the chase more fun for the deranged creature.

Just as Jenny looked as if she might be willing to leave with me finally, that was when it hit me. It truly DIDN'T matter if we ran, drove, or even flew away, When that thing was given orders, it followed them out in ways that defied time and distance. So in all honesty, it didn't matter if we were waiting for it in this room, or if we magically appeared in Greenland, it was going to follow through with its orders. The only question was this: what were said orders?

…..

I sat on the bed as Julian thought out loud and paced. This man was so undecided that it looked almost painful. One minute he is about to pick our bags back up and walk out, and the next he looks completely defeated. The strange thing was, I wasn't even scared for my own being. The way Julian looked at this very moment made me afraid for him. He almost acted as if he were a child who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and was about to face the consequences. Was this a good thing for me though? Or was it a bad thing? Whatever Julian had done that made him feel afraid of why this new Sebastian character had shown up, where would that put us?

A sudden feeling of worry began to grip me. Nothing ever really scared Julian. Not my past threats, not Tom, even his own kin. So this new threat that was having this bad of an effect on Julian… my eyes went wide and I tried to take deep calming breaths. Julian's panicking obviously was not doing any good, so what would mine do? I stood up and grabbed Julian's wrist, stopping his muttering in mid-sentence. He looked at me almost bewildered as his eyes seemed to clear a little of their madness. I looked up at him with a blank expression. "By the way you are making it sound, it looks like there is nothing we can do right now. So…." I took a deep breath, not believing I was actually saying this. "Why don't we try to enjoy ourselves? You know, go and walk on the strip, buy souvenirs and looks at the shops. He can't hurt us in public anyways. "As he took in a sudden breath to retort, I cut him off. "Okay, okay, technically he CAN hurt us in public, but I am pretty sure that he wouldn't do that so as to not draw attention to himself." For a moment Julian tilted his head almost like an animal, once again reminding me that the person's wrist I was still holding onto was not even an actual person. Quickly dropping his wrist, I took a small step back. A sudden slow and almost infectious smile that made my heart skip a few beats began to grow on his face as he kept staring at me.

"Jenny… You surprise me more and more each day, my love." Without another word, I stared at him speechlessly as he straightened up and brushed past me towards the bathroom. As he disappeared from sight, I physically had to shake my head to get that smiling face out of my mind. It looked like a starving tiger's smile, yet at the same time an adoring lover's… how did he do that? As I was wondering this, still standing in the same spot, Julian walked back out with the sound of the shower running now. Picking up my suitcase and handing it to me, he began to push me towards the bathroom. "You may shower first since you take longer, then while you are finishing up getting ready, I will shower. " As I turned around and faced him once I was in the bathroom, his wiggled his fingers at me with a smirk and a wink, then shut the door in my face. Muttering to myself about how I was stuck with the more psycho of the two shadow men in the building, I began to undress.

…

Thirty minutes later, I walked out of the bathroom smelling like fresh jasmine, and brushing my blow-dryed hair. The room was empty… except there was something on the bed. I walked over and eyed the little black dress that was lain out on the bedspread; with matching shoes on the floor beside the bed. A feeling of confusion and surprise flooded through me as I fingered the soft, lacy fabric. "Do you like it?" I whirled around to see Julian standing in the doorway of the terrace, wind ruffling his frosty hair as his arms were crossed and he was leaning against the doorframe with a cocky grin etched upon his features. "I took a walk while you were showering, and saw it in the window of one of the shops nearby. I think it will look perfect on you." Still staring at him, my lips slightly parted, and once again I took in the beautiful being before me; he smiled even wider and stepped towards me once again. And just as I thought he was about to take me into his embrace, he passed by me, grabbed his own bag, slung it over his shoulder, and walked into the bathroom without a second glance.

I stared at the door for a moment or two, partly out of trying to slow my breathing down, and partly because I was seeing if he was going to come back out. But once I heard the shower start, I quickly began to change into the short, black, skin tight dress. Ten minutes later, as I was sitting at the desk off to the side of the room, looking into the mirror and pinning back the last piece of hair, the bathroom door opened. I felt my heart flutter as Julian stepped out, with steam rolling out of the bathroom behind him. He had just a pair of low riding dress pants on, and an unbuttoned white long-sleeved shirt. He was rubbing his hair with a towel, drying it with one hang as he pulled his arm through the other sleeve of his shirt. I looked away as quickly as possible, but the image was going to be stamped into my brain for the rest of my life and I knew it. He was too beautiful. I stared at my image, my eyes looked too wide, and the contrast of the black dress to my skin made me feel exposed. Suddenly it wasn't just my face in the mirror, a disheveled Julian was standing behind me leaning down, looking at me in the mirror as well. "You look gorgeous, Jen. " he eyed me with hunger, and possessiveness. "I am not even sure if I want you going out actually…" And just before Julian walked away to finish getting ready, I noticed something strange. My eyes had the exact same hunger in them as I looked at him…

…

It was dark now, and Vegas was in its prime moment. The moment where everyone came out to gamble and get drunk; perhaps even darker things if you went into an alley or a strip club. But Julian didn't lead me to those places. We got in a taxi and headed towards Fremont Street. As we walked through the Casinos and the gift shops, it felt as if I were in a dream almost. A neon, endless noise-filled dream. People were all around me, onlookers just like us, street performers trying to earn some cash, Casino and Gift Shop employees, even a police man or two flashed by me in pairs. Julian stopped at a cart that sold drinks and my eyes went wide as he showed the worker his ID. Pointing at the Sex On The Beach flavor, the next thing I knew, I had a two foot long guitar shaped container filled to the brim with alcohol shoved into my hand. Julian laughed at one glance at my facial expression. I knew I must have looked scared but he assured me that no one would be suspicious. And after a few moments of looking around, he was right! I was only eighteen years old, and no one gave me a second glance… well, they did but I had a feeling it wasn't because of the drink in my hand.

So much was going on, that no one was worrying about an underage drinker in their presence. A sudden giddy and rebellious emotion erupted inside me as I sipped through the straw at my drink. Wonder filled me as warmth filled my belly and spread through my body as I sipped at the yummy tasting beverage. Julian pulled me along, pointing up at the neon lit ceiling, music played, and for the first time in a long time, I felt like I didn't have a care in the world. I was actually enjoying myself… I was enjoying holding onto Julian's arm and sharing this moment with him. And if I really wanted to be honest with myself… I wouldn't have wanted to be here with anyone but him right now. As time passed, I had a sudden and almost violent urge to use the restroom. I quickly explained it to Julian, practically shouting in his ear over the music show that was going on above us. He nodded and pointed towards the nearest Casino, taking my drink from me so I wouldn't have to worry about it while being in the bathroom.

As I let go of his hand, I suddenly felt very unbalanced. Trying to walk without tipping over, I giggled at how silly I must have looked and began to push past people heading towards the Casino.

After stepping inside, and seeing a bathroom sign, I almost ran the women's room. When I finished and was washing my hands I looked into the brightly lit mirror before me. My cheeks were flushed a little and my eyes were bright. That was when I noticed the slight smile resting upon my lips and noticed something I never noticed about myself before. I looked… wild. Like a free spirit. My hair was pulled up into a messy bun, but it was slowly coming undone, with long wavy amber rivulets falling down past my shoulders, I decided just to take out all the bobby pins, and as I shook my hair out. I almost laughed with happiness as I looked back at the girl… no. The woman in front of me; her green eyes were practically blazing, and she looked like a stranger to me. An unexpecting, wild, stranger; combing my fingers through my hair one last time, I stepped back outside and headed towards the entrance to find Julian. That was when someone grabbed my wrist, gasping and turning to face whoever was holding onto me, I came face to face with a rather overweight grizzly looking man who was sitting in his chair beside a penny machine, taking his last swig of alcohol from his shot glass, then looking at me with a smile that made my blood run cold. The man beside him, who wasn't as overweight, but just as trashy looking, laughed and whispered something to the man still holding onto my wrist.

"What's your hurry sweetheart?" He said rather loudly, obviously he was quite intoxicated. He laughed as his friend whispered something else to him. I looked around me to see if anyone could see what was going on but this area seemed pretty much un-preoccupied. Maybe that is why these men sat here… it was right near the women's restrooms after all. Looking back at the man, I opened my mouth to respond and suddenly he pulled my closer, his grip on my wrist getting so much tighter that I felt my blood pressure being cut off. "Why don't you stay a while? You're a pretty little thing, and maybe you don't believe it but I do have a lot of money. Look, I have a hundred bucks right here." With his other hand he pulled out a hundred dollar bill and waved it in my face. I began to try to pull away from him finally as realization hit me. He wanted to pay me… he wanted to pay me to do things with him. Gasping, I could feel my heart beating so fast, I felt like I was going to pass out. "I'm sorry but I am not that type of girl. Let me go, or else I am going to call the police." Thoughts were whizzing around in my mind, trying to think of a move that Dee had taught me, or that it was a stupid threat; saying I would call the police, because I didn't have a cell phone on me, I was going to have to scream.

The man's friend nudged him, and nodded towards me. The man who was pulling me so close that now I was bending down towards him, grunted in response and began to fumble for something in his pocket. A handkerchief? I watched confused as he pulled the cloth out of his pocket, and eyed me with an almost concentrated expression. Or at least, it would have been concentrated, if he hadn't been so drunk. He actually just looked pathetic. Before I knew what was happening, the man friend was behind me, holding me by both my arms, I was taking in a breath to scream as the overweight one in front of me pressed the handkerchief up to my mouth. It smelled funny… But just as I got a whiff of it, someone pushed the guy onto the floor, the weird smelling cloth falling to the ground. The person moved so quickly that I only saw a long arm reach out off to my right. A sudden dizziness assaulted me as I watched the man fall to the floor with an 'oomph!" and just like that, the man who was holding my arms, let me go. I turn around just in time to see a rather tall man with shaggy straight black hair throw the guys friends so hard against another machine that when he hit his head on it and fell to the floor, he didn't get back up. The man looked like an actual gentleman, almost as if he had walked out of the 1800 era. The way he moved, when he walked screamed something inhuman though. He dusted his gloved hands off as if he dealt with handling garbage, then he smiled softly at me and walked around me.

My eyes followed him as he knelt down to the fellow who had been pushed to the floor. Picking up the white cloth with two fingers and sniffing it a little, he shook his head and tsked. Shaking the handkerchief in front of the bumbling man who was looking up at him with a shocked expression, the mysterious man said "Chloroform? Really? You know, that isn't a way to a girl's heart. But I do understand why one such as you would think that that is the only way to get one. You are quite disgusting." Suddenly grabbing the man by the back of the head with one hand, the man could only get out a small squeal as the stranger pressed the cloth up to HIS nose, and after a moment of standing and watching with my mouth wide open, the mans eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell to the floor limp.

By this point I was shaking. My mind had processed that the two guys had tried to give me chloroform since I refused the offer of payment. But what I was still trying to process was where this other guy came from and what he had just done. Standing back up and straightening himself, he faced me and bowed. I took a step back, trying to keep from passing out as the dizziness got more and more hard to keep control of. Upon straightening back up, he shook his head once more as he stepped towards me. "You would think that Julian would take better care of you." Without another word, I was swept up into the man's arms and being carried outside. I could only stare up at him; I didn't know if it was because I was in shock, or it was the chloroform. But, all I could stare at was this mans… this things… red eyes. He was beautiful, but obviously dangerous. And I didn't know that just because I saw him put down two men within less than a minute before my eyes. No, his aura was reeking with evil.

"Jenny!" I heard someone run up to us, and felt myself lowered into someone else's arms. They were holding me tightly against them, but I knew who it was; at some point my eyelids had gotten so heavy that they were closed. But I knew Julian's voice, and I couldn't help but feel safe now that I was with him and not in the strange red-eyed man's arms. "What the fuck did you do to her!" He practically shouted, thank god for the noise all around us or else this might have actually drawn attention. "I did nothing. In fact, if I hadn't shown up when I did, your human would have been whisked away by two rather unsavory men." There was a long pause and I was wondering what Julian's expression might be, shock? Anger... maybe gratitude? "I can take care of her myself, don't you dare touch her again. I don't need your help, and I can do this job without you watching over us." As Julian turned away, holding me carefully in his arms, I felt my head loll back as the world of noise and lights around me slipped and faded away. The last thing I heard echoed through my mind. The red-eyed mans voice saying "I'm afraid not."


End file.
